Apo Reef Light of gallery. The light station on Apo Reef was part of the first approved group of lighthouses in the Maritime Lighting Plan of Spain for the Philippine Archipelago during the Spanish Colonial Period. It was proposed to erect a steel tower with a third-order light on Bajo Apo Island. In 1896, the tower and the lighting apparatus were already purchased complete by the Spanish authorities from France, and they were delivered and stored at the warehouse in Manila. All lighthouse constructions though, were halted with the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution and then the Spanish–American War. When the Americans took
Apo Reef facilities are available onshore to protect the island's fragile ecosystem. Apo Menor is located near the western end of Apo Reef, about east of Apo Island. It is a rocky limestone island with relatively little vegetation. Cayos del Bajo are flat coralline rock formations with no vegetation on the northern lagoon near the eastern edge of the reef. At low tide, many small rocks are dry on the reef, particularly along its north side. The main activity of the reef relates to its underwater quality. Scuba diving and snorkeling in Apo Reef area are exceptional due to the quality of