January 11, 2021
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Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory that occupies a narrow peninsula of Spain’s southern Mediterranean coast, just northeast of the Strait of Gibraltar, on the east side of the Bay of Gibraltar.
This 5 km long, 1.2 km wide land is connected to Spain by a 1-mile-long isthmus. Gibraltar is a heavily fortified British air and naval base that guards the Strait of Gibraltar-the only entrance to the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Gibraltar has been a symbol of British naval strength for three centuries, hence is known as “the Rock.”
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 increased Gibraltar’s strategic importance. Since World War II, the British military garrison and naval dockyard have been an important part of Gibraltar’s economy as the naval operations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) often use the port facilities. The Rock of Gibraltar defines the western limits of navigation for the Mediterranean world.