Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. It also separates Europe from Africa. At its narrowest point, the two continents are only 7.7 nautical miles apart, which is about 14.2 kilometers or 8.9 statute miles. Ferries cross this distance every day in just 35 minutes.

The Strait of Gibraltar lies in the waters of Morocco, Spain, and Gibraltar, which is a British overseas territory. The water in the strait is deep, ranging from 300 to 900 metres (about 980 to 2,950 feet). Because of international rules under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, ships and airplanes from many countries can freely travel through the strait in case of continuous transit.

Names and etymology

The Strait of Gibraltar gets its name from the Rock of Gibraltar. This rock's name comes from an Arabic phrase meaning "Tariq's Mount", after a person named Tariq ibn Ziyad. People have called the strait many other names throughout history. In Arabic, it is sometimes called "Gate of the West" or "Gate of the sunset". The Romans called it the Strait of Cádiz, and in Latin, it was known as the "Sea of the Passage". The ancient Greeks and Romans also referred to it as the "Pillars of Hercules" because of the tall mountains on each side.

Location

On the northern side of the Strait of Gibraltar are Spain and Gibraltar (a British overseas territory in the Iberian Peninsula). On the southern side are Morocco and Ceuta (a Spanish autonomous city in northern Africa).

Extent

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Strait of Gibraltar as follows:

• On the West. A line joining Cape Trafalgar to Cape Spartel.
• On the East. A line joining Europa Point to the Almina Point.

Geology

The bottom of the Strait of Gibraltar is made of special kinds of rock and sand, shaped by strong currents.

About 6 million years ago, the water connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean closed off. This caused the Mediterranean to become much saltier, leaving thick layers of salt on the sea floor.

Around 5.3 million years ago, the connection opened again in a big flood called the Zanclean flood, and it has stayed open since then. The strong waters from the flood carved out the deep channel we see today. Geologists think the Strait may close again very slowly as the African continent moves north, but this would take many millions of years.

Biodiversity

The Strait of Gibraltar is very important for many birds. Hundreds of thousands of seabirds fly through it every year when they are moving between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Some of these birds include Scopoli's and Balearic shearwaters, Audouin's and lesser black-backed gulls, razorbills, and Atlantic puffins.

There is also a group of orcas, with about 36 individuals, that lives near the Strait. These orcas are one of the few groups left in Western European waters. However, they might face big problems in the future because of pollution from chemicals called PCBs.

History

Main articles: History of Gibraltar, History of Spain, and History of Morocco

People lived near the Strait of Gibraltar a very long time ago. Scientists believe that early humans called Neanderthals lived there up to 125,000 years ago. Later, around 40,000 years ago, modern humans, known as Homo sapiens, also lived in the area.

Because the water between the two sides is very narrow, many different groups have crossed here throughout history. These include ancient groups like the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors, Berbers, and later Spain and Portugal.

In 1492, after Spain took control from the last Muslim rulers, the Strait began to separate the cultures on each side. The north side, including Spain, developed a Christian-European culture with the Spanish language. The south side, including areas like Morocco, developed a Muslim-Arabic culture with the Arabic language. The small British city of Gibraltar added another cultural group to the area.

Communications

The Strait of Gibraltar is a very important route for ships traveling between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Ferries regularly travel between Spain, Morocco, Ceuta, and Gibraltar across the water. There have been ideas to build a bridge or tunnel to connect the two sides.

Tunnel across the Strait

People from Spain and Morocco started talking about building a tunnel under the Strait in the 1980s. In 2003, they agreed to look into making an undersea rail tunnel to connect their train systems. The plans stayed in the planning stage, with officials meeting sometimes, like in 2012. In April 2021, ministers from both countries agreed to meet again in Casablanca to talk about the tunnel more. Earlier, in January 2021, the UK looked at plans for a tunnel linking Gibraltar with Tangiers, which would replace the Spanish-Moroccan plans that hadn’t made much progress after 40 years of talking.

Special flow and wave patterns

The Strait of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean directly to the Mediterranean Sea. This connection creates special patterns in how water moves and forms waves. These patterns happen because of different forces like evaporation, water temperature, tides, and wind.

Water flows through the Strait all the time, both eastwards and westwards. Deeper, saltier water moves westwards, while a larger amount of surface water with less salt moves eastwards. Sometimes, temporary tidal flows can change this for short periods. The balance of water flow is mostly eastwards because the Mediterranean loses more water through evaporation than it gains from rivers and rain.

The Mediterranean waters are much saltier than Atlantic waters, so they sink below the incoming water and form a layer of very salty water at the bottom. This layer flows out into the Atlantic and can be traced for thousands of kilometers before it mixes completely.

Territorial waters

See also: Status of Gibraltar § Territorial waters

Most of the Strait of Gibraltar is inside the territorial waters of Spain and Morocco. The United Kingdom claims waters around Gibraltar on the northern side, but this area is smaller than allowed, so part of the Strait is in international waters. Both Spain and Morocco have disagreements about ownership of land and waters in the area, including small islands like Isla Perejil.

Ships and airplanes can travel through the Strait under rules that allow them to pass through freely, which is different from most other waters near land.

Power generation

Some ideas have suggested building places to make electricity from the strong water flow in the Strait using a special kind of power called tidal power.

Long ago, in the 1920s and 1930s, a big plan called Atlantropa wanted to build a wall across the Strait. This would make a lot of electricity and change the sea level of the Mediterranean Sea. But this could hurt the weather and nature in ways that are hard to fix.

History of Strait crossings

Some brave adventurers have crossed the Strait of Gibraltar in different ways, such as swimming, powered paragliding, and paddleboarding.

Mercedes Gleitze was the first person known to swim across the Strait of Gibraltar on April 6, 1928. It took her 12 hours and 50 minutes to make the journey. This was her sixth try to swim the strait, with her first attempt happening in December 1927.

Francesco Stipo was the first person known to cross the Strait of Gibraltar using a powered paraglider on July 11, 1995. According to a Spanish newspaper, Stipo crossed from Tarifa to Ceuta in less than one hour, followed by a Red Cross boat, and landed near the Port of Ceuta.

Chris Ziaja and Nik Benner were the first people known to cross the Strait of Gibraltar on a stand up paddleboard on October 4, 2010. They started from Punta Carnero and reached Ceuta four and a half hours later.