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The Strait of Gibraltar [1] is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Europe from Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.2 kilometers, 8.9 miles) at its narrowest point. [ 2 ]
Annotated satellite view of the Strait of Gibraltar. The history of Gibraltar has been driven by its strategic position near the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a narrow peninsula at the eastern side of the Bay of Gibraltar, 6 kilometres (4 mi) from the city of Algeciras.
Military control of the Strait of Gibraltar has historically been the most important use of Gibraltar, allowing Britain to defend its trade lanes to the East. The British admiral Lord Fisher stated that Gibraltar was one of the five keys that locked the world, together with Dover , Alexandria , Cape of Good Hope and Singapore , all of which ...
The Strait would be effectively closed to the Allies once Gibraltar was in German hands, forcing Asia-bound Allied shipping to steam all the way around Africa rather than to proceed to the east via the shorter route through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. [23]
1379 - Algeciras was razed to the ground and its harbour made unusable. This fact further increased the importance of Gibraltar, still in Marinid hands, in trade around the strait. Muhammad and Henry subsequently signed a truce, preventing the Christian Kings from attempting to recover the city.
Strait of Gibraltar The choke points still have significant strategic importance for the Royal Navy. The GIUK gap is particularly important to the Royal Navy, as any attempt by northern European forces to break into the open Atlantic would have to do so through the heavily defended English Channel, which is also the world's busiest shipping ...
An aerial view of modern Gibraltar, looking north-west. The nature and position of Gibraltar's defences have been dictated by the territory's topography.It is a long, narrow peninsula measuring 5.1 kilometres (3.2 miles) by 1.6 kilometres (1 mile) wide at maximum, with a land area of about six square kilometres (2.3 square miles).
Shipping in Gibraltar is important because of Gibraltar's strategic position on one side of the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The Strait of Gibraltar is a globally important shipping lane. Gibraltar has become a place known for its expertise with shipping and it has annually 7,000 ship calls. [1]