Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera
Plazas de Soberanía |
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (Spanish pronunciation:
Vélez de la Gomera, along with La Isleta, is a premodern overseas possession known as a
Its border with Morocco is 80 m (260 ft) long, making it one of the shortest international borders in the world.
Geography
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is located 119 km (73.94 mi) southeast of Ceuta. It was a natural island in the Alboran Sea until 1930, when a huge thunderstorm washed large quantities of sand into the short channel between the island and the African continent. The channel was turned into a tombolo[2] and the island became a peninsula, connected to the Moroccan coast by an 85 m (278.87 ft) long sandy isthmus, which is the world's shortest single land-border segment.[3] With a length of 400 m (1,312.34 ft) northwest-southeast and a width of up to 100 m (328.08 ft), it covers about 1.9 ha (4¾ acres).
History
In 1508, Spain launched a successful expedition under the command of
In 1522, Spain lost the peñón to a Moroccan Berber attack that resulted in the deaths of the entire Spanish garrison. Ali Abu Hassun, the new Wattasid ruler of Morocco in 1554, then gave the peñón to the Ottoman troops who had assisted him in gaining the throne.[4]
The Ottomans used it as a base for corsairs operating in the region of the
In 2012, the territory was briefly assaulted by seven Moroccan activists belonging to the Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla, whose leader was Yahya Yahya.[6]
Government
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is governed by direct rule from Madrid.[7][8]
Transportation
The territory is reached primarily by helicopter via a helipad located on the upper sections. A landing area is located on the south end near the land entrance to Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera.
See also
- Former island
- List of Spanish colonial wars in Morocco
- List of islands of Spain
- Morocco–Spain border
- Plazas de soberanía
- Spanish Protectorate of Morocco
- European enclaves in North Africa before 1830
References
- ^ Ceberio Belaza, Mónica; Cembrero, Ignacio; González, Miguel (2012-09-17). "The last remains of the Spanish empire". EL PAÍS. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- Ejercito de Tierra (in Spanish). Archived from the originalon 14 May 2009. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
- ^ Lewis, Martin W. (30 Aug 2010). "The World's Shortest Border". GeoCurrents. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
- ^ .
- ISBN 9004081143.
- ^ Sánchez, Paqui (29 August 2012). "Cuatro activistas marroquíes intentan ocupar el Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera". El Mundo (in Spanish).
- ^ "Moroccans eye Spanish enclave across tiny border". The National. July 16, 2017. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
- ^ "Europe :: Spain — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
External links
- Spanish Autonomous Communities at WorldStatesmen.org