Peñón de Alhucemas, or "Lavender Rock", is one of the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
plazas de soberaníaThe plazas de soberanía , formerly referred as "África Septentrional Española" or simply "África Española" are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa, bordering Morocco.Since the Reconquista, the Spanish army conquered and maintained numerous emplacements in North Africa as a...
just off the
MoroccanMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
coast.
Peñón de Alhucemas and the islets of "Isla de Mar" and "Isla de Tierra" slightly to the west form the Alhucemas Islands. They are located 300 m (984 feet) off the Moroccan town of
Al HoceimaAl Hoceima is a city and port in the north of Morocco and in the center of the Rif Mountains. The Al Hoceima city region has a population of 395.644...
or Alhucemas (former Villa Sanjurjo), 146 km (96 mi) east of Ceuta and 84 km (62 mi) west of Melilla.
Peñón de Alhucemas is a tiny rock island, measuring 220 meters east-west and up to 84 meters north-south, with an area 1.5
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
or 0.015 km², and a height of 27 meters (88 ft).
Peñón de Alhucemas, or "Lavender Rock", is one of the
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
plazas de soberaníaThe plazas de soberanía , formerly referred as "África Septentrional Española" or simply "África Española" are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa, bordering Morocco.Since the Reconquista, the Spanish army conquered and maintained numerous emplacements in North Africa as a...
just off the
MoroccanMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
coast.
Peñón de Alhucemas and the islets of "Isla de Mar" and "Isla de Tierra" slightly to the west form the Alhucemas Islands. They are located 300 m (984 feet) off the Moroccan town of
Al HoceimaAl Hoceima is a city and port in the north of Morocco and in the center of the Rif Mountains. The Al Hoceima city region has a population of 395.644...
or Alhucemas (former Villa Sanjurjo), 146 km (96 mi) east of Ceuta and 84 km (62 mi) west of Melilla.
Peñón de Alhucemas is a tiny rock island, measuring 220 meters east-west and up to 84 meters north-south, with an area 1.5
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
or 0.015 km², and a height of 27 meters (88 ft). The rock is entirely occupied by a fort, several houses, and a church.
Isla de Tierra is a steep, 11 m (33 ft) high rocky platform, 114 meters north of the Moroccan beach, 192 meters long northeast-southwest, and up to 87 meters wide, yielding an area of 1.7
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
or 0.017 km².
Isla de Mar is a flat, 4 m (12 ft) high islet, with its western end 93 meters north of Isla de Tierra, 245 meters long east-west, up to 70 meters wide, yielding an area of 1.4
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
or 0.014 km².
The aggregate land area of the group of three islands is 4.6
haA hectare is a unit of area equal to , or one square hectometre , and commonly used for measuring land area....
or 0.046 km².
Spanish rule dates back to 1559, when several territories belonging to the
Saadi dynastyThe Saadi Dynasty , began with the reign of Sultan Mohammed ash-Sheikh in 1554. From 1509 to 1554 they had ruled only in the south of Morocco. The Saadian rule ended in 1659 with the end of the reign of Sultan Ahmad el Abbas...
were given to Spain in exchange for help in defending it against
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
armies. In 1673, Spain sent a garrison to the island of Peñón de Alhucemas, and it has been permanently occupied since. Today, the fort which is built on it hosts a 60 man Spanish military garrison.
The islands are also located near the landing place used by the Spanish and
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
expeditionary forces in 1925, during the
Rif WarThe Rif War of 1920, also called the Second Moroccan War, was fought between Spain and the Moroccan Rif and J'bala tribes.-Early Stages:...
.
Spanish sovereignty over the islets has been contested by
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
since its independence in 1956.
See also
- Plazas de soberanía
The plazas de soberanía , formerly referred as "África Septentrional Española" or simply "África Española" are the current Spanish territories in continental North Africa, bordering Morocco.Since the Reconquista, the Spanish army conquered and maintained numerous emplacements in North Africa as a...
- List of Spanish colonial wars in Morocco
- Spanish Morocco
Spanish Protectorate of Morocco was the area of Morocco under colonial rule by the Spanish Empire, established by the Treaty of Fez in 1912 and ending in 1956, when both France and Spain recognized Moroccan independence.-Territorial borders:...