| Bay of Gibraltar | |
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| Profile: Facts and Figures at a Glance | |
| Area | 75 km² |
| Maximum depth: | 400 m |
| Maximum Length: | 10 km |
| Maximum Width: | 8 km |
| Waters Connected to the Bay of Gibraltar: | |
| Rivers which drain into Bay of Gibraltar: |
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| Important Ports: | |
| Historic Ports: | |
| Battles: | |
The Bay of Gibraltar (also known as Gibraltar Bay; Spanish: Bahía de Algeciras) is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. The Strait of Gibraltar ( Arabic: مضيق جبل طارق Spanish: Estrecho de Gibraltar) is the Strait that connects the Atlantic The Albran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco on the south Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar The Port of Algeciras is the port and Harbour of Algeciras, city in the province of Cádiz, in the autonomous community of Andalusia La Línea de la Concepción (more often referred to as La Línea) is a town in Spain, in the province of Cádiz in Andalucia. Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar The naval Battle of Gibraltar took place on 25 April 1607 during the Eighty Years' War when a Dutch fleet surprised and engaged a The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Spain and France to capture Gibraltar from the British during the American War The Battle of Algeciras Bay refers to two separate battles in July 1801 between an allied French - Spanish fleet and the British near Gibraltar Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra It is around 10 km long by 8 km wide, covering an area of some 75 square kilometres, with a depth of up to 400 m in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea. The Strait of Gibraltar ( Arabic: مضيق جبل طارق Spanish: Estrecho de Gibraltar) is the Strait that connects the Atlantic
The shoreline is densely settled. From west to east, the shore is divided between the Spanish communities of Algeciras, Los Barrios, San Roque, La Línea de la Concepción and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Algeciras - Arabic: الجزيرة الخضراء is a port city in the south of Spain, and is the largest urban area on the Bay of Gibraltar Los Barrios is a small town and municipality in the south of Spain. La Línea de la Concepción (more often referred to as La Línea) is a town in Spain, in the province of Cádiz in Andalucia. The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories that are under the Sovereignty of the United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar The larger part of the shoreline is Spanish territory, with part of the Eastern half of the bay being claimed by Gibraltar. [1]
The East and West entrances to the bay are marked respectively by the lighthouses of Europa Point in Gibraltar and Punta Carnero to the West of Algeciras. A lighthouse is a Tower, building or framework designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or in older times from a fire and used as an Europa Point, also called Great Europa Point, is the southernmost point of Gibraltar.
The area around the bay is heavily industrialised with extensive petrochemical installations near San Roque and working ports in both Algeciras and Gibraltar. Petrochemicals are chemical products made from raw materials of Petroleum or other Hydrocarbon origin ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo The bay's waters are used by a considerable number of large and medium sized ships, notably oil tankers and freighters. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of Ship or vessel that carries Cargo, goods and materials from one port to another Due to this and the heavy industries along the shoreline, airborne and marine pollution are serious problems in the area. Environmental groups have raised concerns about the risks of oil spills and other types of pollution, particularly in the light of the bay's ecological importance (see below).
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Ecology
The bay is a breeding area for several dolphin species, notably the Common Dolphin, Striped Dolphin and Bottlenose Dolphin, and is also visited by migratory whales. Dolphins are Marine mammals that are closely related to Whales and Porpoises There are almost forty species of dolphin in seventeen genera. The Common Dolphin is the name given to up to three species of Dolphin making up the Genus Delphinus. The Striped Dolphin ( Stenella coeruleoalba) is an extensively studied Dolphin that is found in temperate and tropical waters of all the world's oceans The Bottlenose Dolphin is one of the most common and well-known Dolphins. Whales are marine mammals which are neither Dolphins (ie members of the families Delphinidae or Platanistoidae) nor Porpoises Orcas It is a popular destination for tourist whale-watching trips from Algeciras or Gibraltar. Whale watching is the practice of observing Whales and other Cetaceans in their natural habitat
The other major draw for tourists is scuba diving: the area is rich with wrecks and historical artifacts such as crashed Avro Shackleton aircraft and Sherman tanks from the Second World War, and ancient anchors from Phoenician and Roman ships. Scuba diving is swimming underwater, or taking part in another activity while using a Scuba set. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout World War II foreign variants and use Lend-Lease Sherman tanks. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC
History
The area around the Bay of Gibraltar has been inhabited for millennia and the bay itself has been used by merchant shipping for at least 3,000 years. The Phoenicians are believed to have had a settlement near Gibraltar and the Romans established the town of Portus Alba ("White Port") on the site of modern Algeciras. Later peoples, notably the Moors and the Spanish, also established settlements on the shoreline during the Middle Ages and early modern period, including the heavily fortified and highly strategic port at Gibraltar, which fell to England in 1704. The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Year 1704 ( MDCCIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a
The bay's strategic position at the mouth of the Mediterranean has made it a much-contested body of water over the centuries. It has been the site of several major sea battles, notably the Battle of Gibraltar (1607) and the Battle of Algeciras Bay (1801). The naval Battle of Gibraltar took place on 25 April 1607 during the Eighty Years' War when a Dutch fleet surprised and engaged a The Battle of Algeciras Bay refers to two separate battles in July 1801 between an allied French - Spanish fleet and the British near Gibraltar Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday During the Second World War, Italy launched human torpedoes from Algeciras on several occasions in attempts to sink British ships moored in the Gibraltar harbour, with mixed success due to the work of Commander Crabbe. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Human torpedoes or manned torpedoes were secret naval weapons of World War II. For the American actor see Buster Crabbe Lionel "Buster" Crabb OBE, GM ( 28 January, 1909 - presumed
More recently, there has been (and remains) a persistent dispute between Spain and Gibraltar over British sovereignty in the Bay of Gibraltar. Spain has never officially recognised British sovereignty in the area save for a small portion around the Port of Gibraltar, but the UK has claimed sovereignty over an extensive area stretching to approximately the middle of the bay. This has caused tensions between the two sides, especially over the issue of Spanish fishermen operating in what the Gibraltarians regard as their territorial waters. [2]
References
- ^ Territorial waters
- ^ Gerry O'Reilly, "Gibraltar: Sovereignty Disputes and Territorial Waters", in The Hydrographic Journal No 95, January 2000
External links
- High resolution navigational map of the Bay of Gibraltar
- Mapa Interactivo del Puerto Bahía de Algeciras (in Spanish)
- Photo: Dolphins playing by the oil refinery
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