Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, seen from the Moroccan coast.

Peñón de Alhucemas, viewed from the Moroccan coast.

A Peñón ("rock" in Spanish) is a term for certain offshore island forts established by the Spanish Empire, especially in Africa). Several are still part of the plazas de soberanía ("places of sovereignty") of Spain in Northern Africa.

Among the most famous is the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, off the coast of Morocco, still a Spanish territory to this day. There is also the Peñón de Alhucemas nearby.

Spanish fortress of the Peñón de Argel in Algiers, before being destroyed by Barbarossa.

The Peñón de Argel was connected to the continent to form a seawall and the harbour of Algiers.

The Peñón of Algiers ("El Peñón de Argel") was established in 1510, when the Spaniards settled on a small island in front of Algiers (modern Algeria), and forced the local ruler Sālim al-Tūmī (Selim-bin-Teumi) to accept their presence through a treaty and pay tribute.^[1][2] Fortifications were built on the islet, and a garrison of 200 men was established.^[2] Sālim al-Tūmī had to go to Spain to take an oath of obedience to Ferdinand of Aragon.^[2] It was captured, dismantled and connected to the land by Hayreddin Barbarossa in the Capture of Algiers (1529).

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