(North is to the left: Spain is on the left and Africa on the right)
The Strait of Gibraltar (Arabic: مضيق جبل طارق, Spanish: Estrecho de Gibraltar) is the strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain from Morocco. Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language A strait is a narrow navigable Channel of water that connects two larger navigable bodies of water Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa The name comes from Gibraltar, which in turn originates from the Arabic Jebel Tariq (جبل طارق) meaning mountain of Tariq. Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language It refers to the Ummayad Berber general Tariq ibn-Ziyad who led the Islamic conquest of Hispania in 711. Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. Tariq Ibn Ziyad or Taric bin Zeyad (طارق بن زياد d 720 known in Spanish history and legend as Taric el Tuerto (Taric the one-eyed was The Umayyad conquest of Hispania ( 711 – 718) began as an army of the Umayyad Caliphate consisting largely of Berbers inhabitants Events By Place Europe April 30 — Ummayad troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar, and begin [1] It is also known as the Straits of Gibraltar or STROG (Strait Of Gibraltar), the latter being in naval use. [2]
There are 13 km (8 miles) of ocean separating Europe from Africa at the strait's narrowest point. The kilometre ( American spelling: kilometer) symbol km is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to one thousand A mile is a unit of Length, usually used to measure Distance, in a number of different systems including Imperial units United States The strait depth ranges between 300 and 900 meters. [3] A ferry commutes between the two continents. The Spanish part of the strait is protected under the El Estrecho Natural Park
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Location
On the northern side of the Strait is Spain and Gibraltar, while on the southern side is Morocco and Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa. El Estrecho (The Strait Natural Park ( Parque Natural del Estrecho in Spanish is a National park in Spain located on the northern side of the Strait of Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Its boundaries were known in antiquity as the Pillars of Hercules. The Pillars of Hercules was the phrase that was applied in Antiquity to the promontories that flank the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar. There are several small islands, such as the disputed Isla Perejil, that are claimed by both Spain and Morocco. A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more States or over the possession or control of land by one state after it has conquered [4].
Due to its location, the strait is widely used for illegal immigration from Africa to Europe.
Geology
About 6 million years ago, the Strait closed, effectively turning the Mediterranean into a huge salty lake that eventually dried up, in what is known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The Messinian Salinity Crisis, also referred to as the Messinian Event, is a period when the Mediterranean Sea evaporated partly or completely dry during the At the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, approximately 5. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 The Pliocene epoch (spelled Pleiocene in some older texts is the period in the Geologic timescale that extends 33 million years ago, the Strait opened up for the last time, and has remained open since. [5]
Communications
The Straits are an important shipping route from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic. A shipping route is a Trade route used by Merchant ships Early routes usually were Coastal in nature as navigators had to rely on the coastal landmarks There are ferries that operate between Spain and Morocco across the strait, as well as between Spain and Ceuta and Gibraltar to Tangier. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain located on the Mediterranean, on the North African side of the Strait of Gibraltar, which Gibraltar (dʒɨˈbrɒltər is a British overseas territory located near the southernmost tip of the Iberian Peninsula overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar Tangier or Tangiers ]] ( Tanja طنجة in Berber and Arabic, Tánger in Spanish
Tunnel across the strait
In December 2003, Spain and Morocco agreed to explore the construction of an undersea rail tunnel to connect their rail systems. Gibraltar Tunnel is envisioned as a rail tunnel that would link Africa and Europe. Underwater is a term describing the realm below the surface of Water where the water exists in a natural feature (called a body of water) such as an Ocean "Railroad" and "Railway" both redirect here For other uses see Railroad (disambiguation. A tunnel is an underground passageway The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon The gauge of the tunnel would be 1435 mm to match the proposed construction and conversion of significant parts of the existing broad gauge system to standard gauge. The standard gauge (also named the Stephenson gauge after George Stephenson, or Normal gauge) is a widely-used Rail gauge. [6]
Inflow and outflow
On a net basis, water continually flows eastward into and through the Strait of Gibraltar, due to an evaporation rate within the Mediterranean basin higher than the combined inflow of all the rivers that empty into it. Internal waves are Gravity waves that oscillate within rather than on the surface of a fluid medium The sill of the Strait of Gibraltar acts to limit mixing between the cold, less saline Atlantic water and the warm Mediterranean waters. In Geology, a sill is a tabular Pluton that has intruded between older layers of Sedimentary rock, beds of Volcanic The latter are so much saltier that they sink below the constantly incoming Atlantic water and form a highly saline (thermohaline, both warm and salty) bottom water, called the Mediterranean outflow. The term thermohaline circulation (THC refers to the part of the large-scale ocean circulation that is thought to be driven by global density gradients created by surface heat and A density boundary separates the layers at about 100 m depth. It flows out and down the continental slope, losing salinity, until it equilibrates after mixing at a depth of about 1000 meters. The Mediterranean outflow water can be traced for thousands of kilometers before losing its identity.
Internal waves (waves at the density boundary layer) are common in the strait. Internal waves are Gravity waves that oscillate within rather than on the surface of a fluid medium Like traffic merging on a highway, the water flow is constricted in both directions because it must pass over a shallow submarine barrier, the Camarinal Sill. When large tidal flows enter the Strait, internal waves are set off at the Camarinal Sill as the high tide relaxes. The waves—sometimes with heights up to 100 m—travel eastward. Even though the waves occur at great depth and the height of the waves at the surface is almost nothing, they can be traced in the sunglint because they concentrate the biological films on the water surface, creating slight differences in roughness. Sunglint is a Phenomenon that occurs when the Sun reflects off the surface of the Ocean at the same angle that a Satellite Sensor The waves flow eastward, refract around coastal features; can be traced for as much as 150 km, and sometimes create interference patterns with refracted waves. In physics interference is the addition ( superposition) of two or more Waves that result in a new wave pattern [7]
Resources
The place is very interesting for eolic energy production, windsurfing and cetacea seeing
See also
External links
- Climate Control Requires a Dam at the Strait of Gibraltar — American Geophysical Union, 1997. The Order Cetacea (sɪˈteɪʃiə L cetus, whale includes Whales Dolphins and Porpoises Cetus is This List of straits is an appendix to the article Strait. See also:CategoryStraits A Agate Pass The Mediterranean Basin refers to the lands around and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. Accessed 26 February 2006.
- Project for a Europe-Africa permanent link through the Strait of Gibraltar — United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2001. Accessed 26 February 2006.
- Map of Morocco — Multimap. com, 2006. Accessed 26 February 2006.
- (Spanish) Estudios Geográficos del Estrecho de Gibraltar — La Universidad de Tetuán and La Universidad de Sevilla. Accessed 26 February 2006.
- Solitons, Strait of Gibraltar. NASA Earth Observatory. The NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing organization of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (US Retrieved on 2006-05-24. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned
- Internal Waves, Strait of Gibraltar. NASA Earth Observatory. The NASA Earth Observatory is an online publishing organization of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States (US Retrieved on 2006-05-24. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned
References and notes
- ^ http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/gov_depts/port/port_index.htm Gibraltar port website], retrieved June 10, 2007.
- ^ See, for instance, Nato Medals: Medal for Active Endeavor, awarded for activity in the international water of the Mediterranean and STROG.
- ^ See Robinson, Allan Richard and Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli, Ocean Processes in Climate Dynamics: Global and Mediterranean Examples. Springer, 1994, p. 307, ISBN ISBN 0792326245.
- ^ Tremlett, Giles, "Moroccans seize Parsley Island and leave a bitter taste in Spanish mouths," in The Guardian, July 13, 2002. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group.
- ^ Cloud, P., Oasis in space. Preston Ercelle Cloud Jr ( September 26, 1912 – January 16, 1991) was an American paleontologist, geographer Earth history from the beginning, New York: W. W. Norton & Co. Inc. , p. 440. ISBN 0393019527
- ^ Europe-Africa rail tunnel agreed BBC.co.uk
- ^ Wesson, J. C. and M. C. Gregg, "Mixing at Camarinal Sill in the Strait of Gibraltar," in Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. C5, 1994, pp. 9847–9878.
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