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

Geography
Area0.07 km2 (0.027 sq mi)
Administration
ProvinceProvince of Almería
Demographics
Population21 (military staff only)
Alborán
Almería
Spain

Alboran Island

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, islet of the cloud).

The wall-rocket species Diplotaxis siettiana, called jaramago de Alborán in Spanish, has its only known wild population on the 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]

In the mid-1960s there were several attempts by Soviet fishing boats to establish a settlement in Alboran, which forced the Spanish army to establish a permanent detachment of Spanish Navy Marines for the control and protection of the island.

Modern life

The island administratively belongs to the Comarca Metropolitana de Almería and is part of the Pescadería district.

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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").
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