Felsen von Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar (sometimes called the Pillar of Hercules or by its Latin name, Calpe) is a monolithic limestone promontory located in Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is 426 metres (1,396 feet) high. The Rock is Crown property of the United Kingdom, and borders Spain. The sovereignty of Gibraltar was transferred to the United Kingdom of Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 after the War of the Spanish Succession. Most of the Rock's upper area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 250 Barbary Macaques, commonly known as 'apes'; they are the only wild monkeys found in Europe. These macaques, as well as a labyrinthine network of tunnels attracts a large number of tourists per year.

In ancient times the Rock of Gibraltar was one of the Pillars of Hercules and was known to the Greeks as Mons Calpe, the other pillar being Mons Abyla on the African side of the Strait. The Rock of Gibraltar marked the limit to the known world and to pass beyond it was to sail to certain destruction over the bottomless waterfall at the edge of the world.

Geology

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory (Vorlage:Coor dms). The geological formation was created when the African tectonic plate collided tightly with Europe. The Mediterranean became a lake that, in the course of time, dried up during the Messinian salinity crisis. The Atlantic Ocean broke through the Strait of Gibraltar, and the resultant flooding created the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, the Rock of Gibraltar forms a peninsula jutting out into the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern coast of Spain. The Rock's highest point stands 426 metres (1396 feet) above the strait. Its east face forms a very impressive near-cliff, while its west slope is relatively gentle.

Calcite, the mineral which makes up limestone, dissolves slowly in rainwater. Over time, this process can form caves. Since the Rock of Gibraltar is made of limestone, it is not surprising that it contains a number of caves. St. Michael's Cave, located halfway up the western slope of the Rock, is a popular tourist attraction.

Gorham's Cave is located near sea level on the steep eastern face of the Rock. It is noteworthy because archaeological excavations in the cave have found evidence that Neanderthals used it as far back as 30,000 years ago. It is especially significant because plant and animal remains found in the cave (and others nearby) indicate that the Neanderthals had a highly varied diet.

A panoramic view from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar looking north

Fortification

The Moorish Castle

The Moorish Castle flying the Union flag.

The Moorish Castle is a relic of the Moorish occupation of Gibraltar, which lasted for 750 years. It was built in the year A.D. 711, when Tariq ibn-Ziyad, the Berber chieftain first landed on the Rock which still bears his name.

The principal building which remains is the Tower of Homage, a massive building of brick and very hard concrete called tapia, in the upper part of which housed the living apartments and Moorish bath of the former occupants.

The Galleries

The Rock of Gibraltar's North Front cliff face from Bayside, c.1810

The unique feature which is always associated with the Rock is the system of underground passages known as Galleries.

The first of these was dug out towards the end of the four years’ siege which lasted from 1779-1783. General Elliot, afterwards Lord Heathfield, who commanded the garrison throughout the siege, was anxious to bring flanking fire on the Spanish batteries in the plain below the North face of the Rock. On the suggestion of Sergeant Ince of the Royal Engineers a tunnel was bored from a point above Willis’s Battery to communicate with the Notch, a natural projection from the North fact on which it was proposed to mount a battery. There was no intention at first of making embrasures in this tunnel, but an opening was found necessary for ventilation, and as soon as it had been made a gun was mounted in it. By the end of the siege, six such embrasures had been constructed, in which four guns were mounted.

The Galleries, which are shown to visitors, were a later development of the same idea and were finished in 1797. They consist of a whole system of halls, embrasures, and passages, of a total length of nearly 1000 feet, and from them may be seen a series of unique views of the Bay of Gibraltar, the isthmus, and Spain.

The Second World War onwards

When World War II broke out in 1939, the civilian population was evacuated to the United Kingdom, Jamaica, and Madeira so that Gibraltar could be fortified against the possibility of a German attack. By 1942 there were over 30,000 British soldiers, sailors, and airmen on the Rock. The tunnel system was expanded and the Rock became a keystone in the defense of shipping routes to the Mediterranean.

In February 1997, it was revealed the British had a secret plan called Operation Tracer to bury alive service men in the Rock in case it was captured by the Germans during World War II. The team in the rock would have radio equipment to monitor enemy movements. The team of six was sent to Gibraltar where it waited under cover for two and half years. The Germans never got close to capturing the rock, so the men were never sealed inside, and they were disbanded to resume civilian life when the war ended.

Invincibility

1945 caricature from The Rock Magazine

1945 caricature from The Rock Magazine

Despite long sieges it seemed that there was nothing that could destroy the Rock or its people. This history has inspired the simile "solid as the Rock of Gibraltar", which is used to describe a person or situation that cannot be overcome and does not fail. The motto of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and even Gibraltar itself, Nulli Expugnabilis Hosti, reflects this famous invincibility; it is Latin for "Conquerable by No Enemy".

Upper Rock Nature Reserve

Vorlage:See also The flora and fauna of the Upper Rock Nature Reserve are of conservation interest. Within it is a range of animals and plants, but the highlights are the Barbary Macaques (the famous 'Rock Apes'), the Barbary Partridges, and flowers such as Gibraltar's own Chickweed, Thyme and the Gibraltar Candytuft.

Ornithology

Vorlage:See also The Rock of Gibraltar, at the head of the Strait, is a prominent headland, which accumulates migrating birds during the passage periods. The vegetation on the Rock, unique in southern Iberia, provides a temporary home for many species of migratory birds that stop to rest and feed before continuing migration for their crossing over the desert and sea. In spring they return to replenish before continuing their journeys to Western Europe, journeys which may take them as far as Greenland or Russia.

Popular appearances

Datei:GibraltarStatue.jpg

The North Face of the Rock of Gibraltar, as seen from ground level in La Línea de la Concepción, Spain.

• The Rock of Gibraltar is the corporate logo of Prudential Financial.
• Gibraltar Industries Inc., a large steel manufacturer, is listed on the NASDAQ under the stock symbol ROCK.
• "The Rock of Gibraltar" is a song by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from the 2003 album Nocturama.
• The Rock is thought to be inspiration for Casterly Rock, the seat of House Lannister in George R. R. Martin's ongoing A Song of Ice and Fire series.
• In the remix to the song "Diamonds Are Forever" by Kanye West (remix featuring Jay-Z), Jay-Z raps "How could you falter/ If you're the Rock of Gibraltar/ I had to get off the boat so I could walk on water". Lil' Wayne and Juelz Santana later released a diss track to Nas and Jay-Z, a remix of the Nas song "Black Republican." Santana raplies that "The Rock of Gibraltar is now fallen/On ya..."
• Jason Mraz, in his song "0% Interest", references the rock: "Why don't you tell them all about the sunsets in Sweden, and the laws of Eden, and how you were the Rock of Gibraltar?"
• In the song "Solid as a Rock", ska band Oceans 11 sing "Our love is solid as the rock of Gibraltar; So why won't you come back home to me?" for the chorus.

References

• Gibraltar The Travel to the Mediterranean broshure issued by the Government of Gibraltar, 1931