Alboran Island

Geography
Area 0.07 km2 (0.027 sq mi)
Administration
Province Province of Almería
Demographics
Population 21 (military staff only)
Alborán
Almería
Spain

Coordinates: 35°56′N 03°02′W / 35.933°N 3.033°W / 35.933; -3.033

Alborán Island

Alboran Island (Spanish: Isla de Alborán) is a small islet in the Alboran Sea, part of the western Mediterranean, about 50 km (31 mi) north of the Moroccan coast and 90 kilometres (56 miles) south of the Spanish province of Almería. A Spanish possession since 1540, it was taken from the Tunisian pirate 'Al Borani' in the Battle of Alborán. It is now home to a small Spanish Naval garrison and an automated lighthouse.

Description

Alboran Island is a small islet in the Alboran Sea, part of the western Mediterranean, about 50 km (31 mi) north of the Moroccan coast and 90 km (56 mi) south of the province of Almería, Spain. The island is a flat platform about 15 metres (49 feet) above sea level and about 71,200 m2 (766,390.4 sq ft) in area.

100 m (328 ft) off the northeastern end of the island is the small islote de La Nube. (literally, island of the cloud).

The wall-rocket species Diplotaxis siettiana, called jaramago de Alborán in Spanish, has its only known wild population on this island. It was extinct there during much of the late 20th century, but successfully reintroduced from ex-situ conservation stocks in 1999.

History

Alborán has been known in error as "Albusama".[1]

A Spanish possession since 1540, it was taken from the Tunisian pirate Al Borani in the Battle of Alborán.

Modern life

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

It is home today to a small Spanish Navy garrison and an automated lighthouse.

See also

References

  1. "Algunos cartógrafos de los últimos siglos han dado a Alboran el nombre de Albusama, confundiéndola con el pequeño islote costero cercano a la ciudad llamada tambien por ellos Albusama." (Marie Armand Pascal d'Avezac de Castera-Macaya, 1846. Historia de las islas de África p. 386); "Alhucema (Albusama): Pequeña isla del Mediterráneo , sobre la costa del reyno de Fez , en frente de la de Alhucema." (Antonio Vegas 1806. Diccionário geográfico universal, que comprende la descripción de las quatro partes del mundo, s.v. "Alhucema").
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/29/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.