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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. Some 100 Meters off the northeastern end of the island is small Isla de las Nubes (literally, island of the clouds).

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 / 35.9166667°N 3.0333333°W / 35.9166667; -3.0333333Coordinates: 35°55′00″N 03°02′00″W / 35.9166667°N 3.0333333°W / 35.9166667; -3.0333333
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.