Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera, a small rock off the northern coast of Africa conquered by Spain in 1564, holds the title of the shortest national border in the world, measuring only 85 meters in length.
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is a small territory of Spain. (Photo: O.C).
According to Oddity Central, Spain shares nearly 2,000 kilometers of land borders with Portugal and France, but it also has much shorter borders with countries like Andorra, the United Kingdom (in the Gibraltar area), and Morocco.
With Morocco, Spain shares the shortest land border in the world, a strip of land just 85 meters long that connects a rock with an area of approximately 19,000 square meters to its coastline.
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera has been a small territory of Spain since 1564 when it was conquered by Admiral Pedro de Estopiñán. Although Morocco has made numerous claims to this land, Spain has never agreed to relinquish it. The country also maintains military forces stationed there to govern this territory.
Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is one of the places where Spain holds sovereignty in North Africa, alongside Ceuta, Melilla, Peñón de Alhucemas, the Chafarinas Islands, and Isla de Perejil. These are all non-self-governing territories under Spanish administration.
Interestingly, this barren rock was once an island until 1934, when an earthquake created a narrow isthmus and transformed the island into a peninsula. This land border is officially recognized as the shortest in the world.
Currently, the Spanish military is responsible for monitoring and defending Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera. The soldiers are rotated monthly and live under quite modest conditions, lacking water and electricity. They primarily rely on supply ships from the Spanish Navy.
