Isla de Alborán

The island of Alborán.

Alborán Island

Alborán

Almería

Spain

The Isla de Alborán is a small islet in the Alborán Sea, part of the western Mediterranean, about 50 km north of the Moroccan coast and 90 km south of the province of Almería, Spain. A Spanish possession since 1540, it was taken from the Tunisian pirate Al Borani in the Battle of Alborán. It is home today to a small Spanish Navy garrison and an automated lighthouse. Some 100 m off the northeastern end of the island is the small Isla de las Nubes (literally, island of the clouds).

While Morocco claims the Spanish-held plazas de soberanía enclaves and islands on or near the Moroccan coast as part of Greater Morocco, it has never filed a formal claim to Alborán.

During antiquity, Alboran was known as "Erroris" and as "Albusama".

Today, the island administratively belongs to the city council (Spanish: ayuntamiento) of Almería and is part of the Almería Pescadería (fish market) district.

General data

• Position: 35°56′42″N 03°02′12″W / 35.945°N 3.03667°W / 35.945; -3.03667Coordinates: 35°56′42″N 03°02′12″W / 35.945°N 3.03667°W / 35.945; -3.03667
• Area: About 71,200 m² (or 17.6 acres). Close to the island there is another called Cloud Islet.
• Altitude: The island is a flat platform about 15 m above sea level.
• Curiosities: Owing to its strategic value, in about 1960 a few supposed fishing vessels from the Soviet Union tried to install a stable base on the island. For this reason the Spanish army established a settlement on Alborán for its control and protection.

External links

• Aerial Photograph

See also

• Alboran Sea
• Almería