Isla de Alborán

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Alborán Island

Alborán

Almería

Spain

The Isla de Alborán is a small island in the Alborán Sea, part of the western Mediterranean, about 50 kilometres north of the Moroccan coast and 90 kilometres 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.

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

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

[edit] General Data

Position: 35°55′00″N 03°02′00″W / 35.916667°N 3.033333°W / 35.916667; -3.033333Coordinates: 35°55′00″N 03°02′00″W / 35.916667°N 3.033333°W / 35.916667; -3.033333
Area: About 71,200 m². 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.