Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera


Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is a Spanish exclave and rocky tied island of Spain, to the west of the Mediterranean Sea, connected to the Moroccan shore by a sandy isthmus. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthmus.
Vélez de la Gomera, along with La Isleta, is a Plaza de soberanía, a premodern overseas possession, administered by the Spanish central government, and has a population consisting only of a small number of Spanish military personnel.

Geography

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is located southeast of Ceuta. It was a natural island in the Alboran Sea until 1934, when a huge thunderstorm washed large quantities of sand in the short channel between the island and the African continent, turning it into a tombolo. Ever since, it has been a peninsula, currently connected to the Moroccan coast by an long sandy isthmus, the world's shortest single land-border segment. With a length of northwest-southeast and a width of up to, it covers about 19,000 m² or 1.9 ha.

History

and Spain passed an agreement in 1496 in which they effectively established their zones of influence on the North African coast: Spain could only occupy territory east of Peñón de Vélez. This restriction only ended with the Iberian Union of Portugal and Spain under Felipe II after the 1578 Battle of Ksar El Kebir, when Spain started to take direct actions in Morocco, as in the occupation of Larache.
In 1508, Spain launched a successful expedition under the command of Pedro Navarro to take the Peñón located near Badis, held by pirates who were constantly attacking and looting the coast of Southern Spain.
In 1522, Spain lost the Peñón to a Moroccan Berber attack that resulted in the deaths of the whole Spanish garrison. Ali Abu Hassun, new ruler of the Kingdom of Fez in 1554, then gave the Peñón to Ottoman troops who had assisted him in gaining the throne.
In 1564, after a failed attempt in 1563, the Spaniards under command of The 4th Marqués de Villafranca retook the Peñón, killing its garrison of 150 Ottoman soldiers. Mathurin Romegas took part in the capture, and the Seigneur de Brantôme was another witness to the event. Spain has retained control of it ever since, withstanding sieges in 1680, 1701, 1755, 1781 and 1790.
In 1871, the Spanish Congress debated abandoning the Peñón, since by that time it had lost its military role, but in the end, the proposal was dropped.

Government

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is governed by direct rule from Madrid.

Transportation

The territory is reached mostly 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.