Editing Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera

{{Short description|Spanish tidal island in North Africa}}

{{Infobox peninsulas
|disputed = yes
|name = {{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}}<br>Hajar Badis
|local_name = 
|image_name = Velez de la Gomera.jpg
|image_caption = {{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}}, seen from the Moroccan coast in 2007.
|image_alt = 
|map_image = 
|map_size = 220
|location = North African coast
|waterbody = [[Mediterranean Sea]]
|coordinates = {{Coord|35|10|20|N|4|17|59|W|type:isle_scale:5000|display=it}}
|area_km2 = 
|highest_mount = 
|elevation_m = 
|country = [[Spain]]
|country1 = [[Morocco]]
|demonym = 
|population = 
|population_as_of = 
|density_km2 = 
|ethnic_groups = 
|additional_info = 
|area_m2 = 19,000
|area_ha = 1.9
|country_admin_divisions = {{Lang|es|[[Plazas de Soberanía]]}}
}}

'''{{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}}''' ({{IPA|es|peˈɲon de ˈβeleθ ðe la ɣoˈmeɾa}}) also known as '''Hajar Badis''' ({{Langx|ar|حجر بديس|translit=Hajar Badis}}) is a Spanish [[enclave and exclave|exclave]] and rocky [[tidal island]] in the western [[Mediterranean Sea]] connected to the [[Morocco|Moroccan]] shore by a sandy  [[isthmus]]. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthmus. The tidal island was named ''{{Transliteration|ar|Hajar Badis}}'' (Rock of Badis) and was connected to the [[town]] of  [[Badis (town)|Badis]].

{{Lang|es|Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}}, along with La Isleta, is a premodern overseas possession known as a {{Lang|es|[[plaza de soberanía]]}}. It is administered by the [[Government of Spain|Spanish central government]]<ref>{{Cite web|last3=González|first1=Mónica|last1= Ceberio Belaza|first2= Ignacio|last2= Cembrero|first3= Miguel|date=2012-09-17|title=The last remains of the Spanish empire|url=https://english.elpais.com/elpais/2012/09/17/inenglish/1347895561_857013.html|access-date=2020-07-31|website=EL PAÍS|language=en}}</ref> and has a population consisting only of a small number of Spanish military personnel.

Its border with Morocco is {{Convert|85|m|ft|abbr=on|sp=us}} long, making it the shortest international land border in the world.<ref name="Ludger Kühnhardt">{{cite book|author=Ludger Kühnhardt|title=The Global Society and Its Enemies|year=2017|publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-55904-9|page=97}}</ref><ref>Bosch March, C. (2024). From Melilla to Strasbourg: unpacking the Spanish inspiration in the ECtHR’s volte-face on Article 4 of Protocol No. 4 ECHR at the moroccan-spanish border. EuroMediterranean Journal of International Law and International Relations, pp. 6-7. https://doi.org/10.25267/Paix_secur_int.2024.i12.1202</ref>{{Dubious|Criteria for shortest land border|date=February 2025}} Morocco asserts claim the peninsula as part of its territory alongside other [[Plazas de Soberanía|Spanish possessions in Northern Africa]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sovereignlimits.com/boundaries/morocco-land|title=Morocco–Spain (Ceuta, Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera & Melilla)|publisher=Sovereign Limits|access-date=23 April 2025}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[Image:Peñón_de_Vélez_Inset_from_Map_of_Fez_and_the_Kingdom_of_Morocco.png|thumb|right|220px|An illustrated inset showing {{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}} from [[Jodocus Hondius]]'s 1606 map of Fez and the Kingdom of Morocco.]]

{{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}} is located {{convert|119|km|mi|abbr=on}} southeast of [[Ceuta]]. It was a natural island in the [[Alboran Sea]] until 1930, when a huge [[thunderstorm]] washed large quantities of sand into the short channel between the island and the African continent. The channel was turned into a [[tombolo]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ejercito.mde.es/organizacion/commeli/html/velez.htm |title=Historia de Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera |website=[[Ejercito de Tierra]] |language=es |access-date=29 October 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514235926/http://www.ejercito.mde.es/organizacion/commeli/html/velez.htm |archive-date=14 May 2009}}</ref> and the island became a peninsula, [[Morocco–Spain border|connected to the Moroccan coast]] by an {{convert|85|m|ft|abbr=on}} long sandy [[isthmus]], which is the world's shortest single land-border segment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lewis |first1=Martin W. |title=The World's Shortest Border |url=http://www.geocurrents.info/geopolitics/the-worlds-shortest-border |website=GeoCurrents |access-date=22 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811132034/http://www.geocurrents.info/geopolitics/the-worlds-shortest-border |archive-date=11 August 2018 |date=30 Aug 2010}}</ref> With a length of {{convert|400|m|ft|abbr=on}} northwest-southeast and a width of up to {{convert|100|m|ft|abbr=on}}, it covers about 1.9&nbsp;[[hectare|ha]] (4¾ acres).

==History==
{{Main|Conquest of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1508)|Conquest of the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera (1564)}}
[[Image:Mapa del sur de España neutral.png|thumb|right|Current Spanish possessions in Northern Africa]]
[[File:Peñón de Velez de la Gomera..jpg|thumb|right|1692 engraving of the {{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}}, by [[Lucas Vostermans]] of Antwerp]]

[[Portugal]] and [[Spain]] passed an agreement in 1496 in which they effectively established their zones of influence on the [[North Africa]]n coast.  As a result, Spain could occupy territory only east of {{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez|italic=no}}. This restriction ended with the [[Iberian Union]] of Portugal and Spain in 1580 under [[Felipe II of Spain|Philip II]] after the 1578 [[Battle of Alcácer Quibir]], when Spain started to take direct actions in [[Morocco]], as in the occupation of [[Larache]].<ref name="Kissling 103">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cPlP5Y4of7AC&pg=PA103 |title=The Last Great Muslim Empires: History of the Muslim World |first1=Hans Joachim |last1=Kissling |first2=Bertold |last2=Spuler |display-authors=etal |translator-last1=Bagley |translator-first1=F. R. C. |page=103 |date=29 October 1996 |location=[[Princeton, New Jersey]] |publisher=Markus Wiener Publishers |isbn=978-1-55876-112-4 |access-date=29 October 2018 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>

In 1508, Spain launched a successful expedition under the command of [[Pedro Navarro]] to take the ''{{Lang|es|[[peñón]]}}'' located near [[Badis (town)|Badis]], held by [[pirate]]s who were constantly attacking and looting the coast of southern Spain.

In 1522, Spain lost the ''{{Lang|es|peñón}}'' to a Moroccan Berber attack that resulted in the deaths of the entire Spanish garrison. [[Ali Abu Hassun]], the new [[Wattasid dynasty|Wattasid]] ruler of Morocco in 1554, then gave the ''{{Lang|es|peñón}}'' to the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] troops who had assisted him in gaining the throne.<ref name="Kissling 103"/>

The Ottomans used it as a base for corsairs operating in the region of the [[Strait of Gibraltar]]. The [[Saadi dynasty|Sa'di]] sultan [[Abdallah al-Ghalib]] was alarmed by this activity, fearing that the Ottomans might use the town of ''Badis'' as a base from which to undertake the conquest of Morocco. In 1564, he forced the Moroccans to evacuate the town and the ''{{Lang|es|peñón}}'', which he handed over to the Spaniards. The Moroccan population [[Retirement|retired]] to the [[kasbah]] of [[Senada]].<ref name="EI2">{{Cite encyclopedia|year=1986|editor3-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth|editor5-first=W. P.|editor5-last=Heinrichs|editor4-first=E.|editor4-last=van Donzel|editor3-first=C. E.|editor3-last=Bosworth|editor2-first=Th.|editor2-last=Bianquis|editor1-first=P.|editor1-last=Bearman|editor5-link=Wolfhart Heinrichs|editor1-link=Peri Bearman|title=Bādis|isbn=9004081143|page=859|volume=I|edition=2nd|publication-place=Leiden, Netherlands|orig-year=1960|first=G. S.|last=Colin|url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2/badis-SIM_0995|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]]|doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_0995}}</ref>

In 2012, the territory [[2012 Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera incident|was briefly assaulted]] by seven Moroccan activists belonging to the [[Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla]], whose leader was [[Yahya Yahya]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2012/08/29/espana/1346231356.html|title=Cuatro activistas marroquíes intentan ocupar el Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|first=Paqui|last=Sánchez|newspaper=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]|date=29 August 2012|language=es}}</ref>

==Government==
{{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}} is administered directly from Madrid.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=July 16, 2017|title=Moroccans eye Spanish enclave across tiny border|url=https://www.thenational.ae/world/africa/moroccans-eye-spanish-enclave-across-tiny-border-1.609207|access-date=2020-07-31|website=The National|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Europe :: Spain — The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency|url=https://www.cia.gov/llibrary/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/print_sp.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510040404/https://www.cia.gov/llibrary/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/print_sp.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 10, 2017|access-date=2020-08-01|website=www.cia.gov}}</ref>

==Transportation==
The territory is reached primarily by helicopter via a helipad located on the upper sections. A landing area is located on the south end near the land entrance to {{Lang|es|Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera|italic=no}}.

==See also==
* [[Former island]]
* [[List of Spanish colonial wars in Morocco]]
* [[List of islands of Spain]]
* [[Morocco–Spain border]]
* [[Plazas de soberanía]]
* [[Spanish Protectorate of Morocco]]
* [[European enclaves in North Africa before 1830]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Spanish_autonomous_communities.html#Melilla Spanish Autonomous Communities] at WorldStatesmen.org

{{Administrative divisions of Spain}}
{{Countries and territories of North Africa}}
{{Outlying territories of European countries}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penon De Velez De La Gomera}}
[[Category:Former islands]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of Spain]]
[[Category:Mediterranean islands]]
[[Category:Plazas de soberanía]]
[[Category:Peñón|Velez de la Gomera]]
[[Category:Sea forts]]
[[Category:Tombolos]]
[[Category:Enclaves and exclaves]]