The Strait of Gibraltar is small, but extraordinarily important for world shipping. It has always been and remains an important strategic object. The minimum width of the Strait of Gibraltar is only 14 kilometers. However, it is quite deep, which only contributes to navigation.
This article will focus on the strait, its history, as well as on the islands located in it.
Strait of Gibraltar: General Description
Any strait, as you know, connects something, while sharing. The importance of Gibraltar is very difficult to overestimate, since it divides two parts of the world: Africa and Europe. The border countries in this case are Spain and Morocco.
And what connects the Strait of Gibraltar? It links two important water bodies: the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
And what are its main parameters? The length of the Strait of Gibraltar is 65 kilometers. Despite its small size, the depth indicators of Gibraltar are quite high. So, the average depth of the Strait of Gibraltar is about 340 meters, and the greatest is over a kilometer (1180 meters, to be precise).
The strategic importance of the strait is confirmed by the fact that four ports are located on its shores: three of them are Spanish, and one is Moroccan. In addition, there is also an important naval base of Gibraltar - the possessions of Great Britain.
In the strait, scientists have recorded one interesting feature. The fact is that the currents in it are directed in opposite directions: surface - from the ocean to the Mediterranean Sea, and deep, on the contrary, from the sea - to the Atlantic.
How did it come about?
There are two versions regarding the rise of the Strait of Gibraltar. The first (more scientific) insists that the Mediterranean Sea is nothing but the remnants of the ancient, single and vast Tethys Ocean, which was systematically contracted by the movement of lithospheric plates. Thus, Gibraltar was formed, which remained a small link connecting the remains of Tethys with the Atlantic.
There is another (more “simpler” and less likely) hypothesis that explains the rise of Gibraltar by the fact that the waters of the Atlantic Ocean simply “rammed” this strait and thus formed the Mediterranean Sea (flooded it). This happened, according to some scientists, about five million years ago.
Strait of Gibraltar Minimum Width
Despite the fact that the strait is not very wide, a huge number of vessels pass through it every day. What is the minimum width of the Strait of Gibraltar? There are some problems in answering this question. The fact is that some sources (mostly old) indicate a figure of 12 kilometers, while others (and most of them) indicate 14 kilometers. Therefore, perhaps, it is worth considering that the minimum width of the Strait of Gibraltar, nevertheless, is 14 km.
As for the greatest width, here almost all sources converge at a value of 44 kilometers.
Strait of Gibraltar in Culture, Literature and Cinema
In ancient times, Gibraltar was shrouded in many diverse myths and legends. So, in particular, the first mariners were convinced that the strait was nothing more than a gate between two worlds: inhabited by people (Oykumen) and unknown, full of secrets and mysteries.
In those days, by the way, the strait bore the exotic name "Hercules Pillars". What was this toponym associated with ? The fact is that the strait was surrounded by high steep cliffs on both sides. Therefore, the first people gave him such an interesting name. The very word Gibraltar comes from the Arabic "Jebel Tariq". The strait was named after Tariq Ibn Ziyad, the Arab conqueror who captured the Pyrenees at one time.
Gibraltar is often mentioned in modern culture. So, science fiction writer Paul Anderson wrote about him in 1975 (a book called "Gibraltar Falls"). The Strait is also in the spotlight in the 1981 action movie "Das Boot". According to the plot of the film, the crew of a German submarine need to overcome the Strait of Gibraltar, which is reliably guarded by the British.
Perehil Island
There are two small islands in the Strait of Gibraltar, which simply cannot be ignored - these are Perehil and Tarif.
Perehil (parsley in Spanish) is a tiny island in the Strait of Gibraltar, whose area is only 150 square meters. However, this small piece of land has a very turbulent history. Who just did not claim to take possession of it in the history of the island: Spain, Britain, France, Morocco, and even the United States. The status of the island, by the way, is still not clear: today it is a disputed territory between two countries: Morocco and Spain.
At the moment, there is no permanent population on the island of Perejil. However, everyone is worried that it may be used for illegal activities. In particular, there are fears that the island serves as a transshipment base for illegal migrants and smuggling. And the alleged Moroccan mafia is doing this.
Tarif Island
Another interesting island is located in the Strait of Gibraltar. First of all, it is interesting for its name.
The tariff is a small rocky island that is located opposite the Spanish town of the same name in Andalusia. The island does not have a permanent population, and its area is only 300 square meters.
As the story goes, before all the ships passing through the Strait of Gibraltar passed this rocky island. And the resourceful Arabs who owned it charged a certain fee from all the ships. Moreover, its size depended on the volume as well as the quality of the transported cargo. And so the word "tariff" appeared familiar to all. Few people today know that this term came precisely from the name of the island in the Strait of Gibraltar, on which enterprising Arabs “dominated”.
Conclusion
Gibraltar is an important strait not only for the European region, but also for the whole world. After all, it provides a maritime connection between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. A lot of different legends are associated with this strait. Indeed, in antiquity he was perceived as a certain feature, beyond which a new and unknown world begins - a stranger, but so alluring!