Name and Location

The Faro de Los Morrillos, also known locally as Faro de Cabo Rojo or simply Los Morrillos, is an active navigation aid and historic landmark located on the western tip of the Los Morrillos headland in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. The lighthouse can be found at WRM5+F4C, PR-301, Cabo Rojo, 00622, Puerto Rico, with coordinates 17°56′02″ N, 67°11′31″ W (decimal 17.9336527, –67.1921891).

Construction and History

The Faro de Los Morrillos was constructed between 1881 and 1882, with the light being first lit on February 15, 1882. It was originally built by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works as part of an island-wide network of aids to navigation. The lighthouse was designed by the Corps of Spanish Engineers (individual names not recorded) and has been listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1981.

Architecture and Materials

The Faro de Los Morrillos is a one-story rectangular keeper’s quarters with an attached hexagonal tower at the seaward end, constructed using local limestone and brick masonry finished in white stucco. The roof of the quarters is red-metal, while the tower stands 35 feet (10.7 meters) above base and is painted white with a red lantern roof.

Light and Navigation

The lighthouse has a focal height of 174 feet (53 meters) above mean sea level and a nominal range of 18 nautical miles. The light characteristic is flashing White every 20 seconds, although the original third-order Fresnel lens is no longer in service and has been replaced by automated optics. The lighthouse was automated around 1939 and is currently maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Accessibility and Visiting

The Faro de Los Morrillos is open daily from sunrise to sunset, with admission free of charge. Visitors can access the site via PR-301 and park at the refuge headquarters; a 0.5-mile walking trail leads to the lighthouse. Facilities include restrooms and a small interpretive center at the refuge HQ, but interior access to the tower and quarters is not permitted for preservation and safety reasons.

Notable Views and Landscape

Perched atop 80-foot (24-meter) limestone cliffs, the Faro de Los Morrillos offers panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea, salt flats (Las Salinas), and offshore islets. The surrounding habitat includes coastal scrub and thorn woodland, which provides an important migratory bird corridor.

Anecdotes and Folklore

• Local legend tells of a "Lady in White" seen wandering the cliff edge at dusk, said to be the ghost of a keeper's daughter lost in a 19th-century shipwreck off Punta Mona.
• Documented shipwrecks include several schooners and cargo brigs that ran aground on surrounding reefs in the 1880s; some wreck remains are still dive-accessible offshore.

Technical and Operational Details

The chart reference for the lighthouse is NOAA Chart US13220 (southwest Puerto Rico), while the NGA number is 32012. The lighthouse does not have AIS or radar equipment on site, but is remotely monitored by the U.S. Coast Guard. It remains active as a coast-guard-maintained aid to navigation.

Further Information

For further information, please refer to Wikipedia (English) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Morrillos_Light, the National Park Service's NRHP Nomination Form (Ref. #81000693), and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge brochure.