Strait of Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar separates Iberia from North Africa and joins the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean. At its narrowest, the two shores are only a short crossing apart. Atlantic water flows eastward at the surface, while saltier Mediterranean water moves west beneath it. The Rock of Gibraltar rises above the northern shore, a commanding landmark at the entrance to the inland sea, opposite the mountains of the African shore.

During the War of the Spanish Succession, British and Dutch forces captured Gibraltar in 1704. A Spanish attempt to recover the fortress failed, and the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 ceded it to Britain. The stronghold remained a focus of conflict: Spain and France besieged it again from 1779 to 1783, but the defenders held out.