Carranza lighthouse, Lighthouse in Maule Region, Chile

The Carranza Lighthouse stands near Caleta Loanco in the Maule Region, its tower a metal pyramid on a rectangular base, the only Chilean lighthouse with that form. The tower is painted in broad alternating white and red horizontal bands and topped by a white circular gallery with a railing and a small dark lantern room. A long single-storey building with white horizontal siding and a low-pitched corrugated metal roof stands in front, its wall carrying wooden signs reading "FARO CARRANZA" and "ARMADA DE CHILE".

The lighthouse was built in 1895, after a series of shipwrecks along this coast showed how dangerous the waters were without proper guidance. It has been in service since then and still carries out the same function it was designed for.

The lighthouse is staffed by the Chilean Navy, whose personnel live and work at the station. Since 1979 the same crew has also produced meteorological reports from the site, so the tower serves both as a navigational aid and as a weather observation point for this stretch of the Maule coast.

The lighthouse can be seen from the coast and is best approached from the shore, where you can take in the structure and the surrounding coastline. Since it is an active navigational aid under official management, access to the tower itself is likely to be restricted.

Using a metal pyramid frame was unusual for Chilean lighthouses of that period, and it sets this one apart from most others along the coast. This type of construction was likely chosen because metal parts could be shipped in and assembled more easily at a remote coastal site.