85 meters: what the smallest border in the world looks like (5 photos)

The world's smallest national border is less than one hundred meters long.





In the north of the Dark Continent there is a tiny rocky piece of land called Peñon de Vélez de la Gomera, connected to the mainland. It is this 85-meter isthmus that is the smallest border between countries on the planet.



Territories of Spain in North Africa.

Spain borders Portugal and France by land, and these borders stretch for two thousand kilometers. However, it has sovereign lands that were once their colonies. They border with Andorra, Gibraltar (British territory) and Morocco. It is with the last state that the Spaniards have the smallest border on the planet.





View from the beach.

The area of the peninsula is less than a kilometer; in the 16th century it was conquered by a Spanish detachment of 13 thousand soldiers. Since then, the Moroccans have laid claim to this rock, but Spain has refused to return the land for centuries.



In order to ensure sovereignty, the country stationed its troops on this tiny peninsula. Even today, it is not Moroccans who live on a piece of land, but Spanish soldiers who keep order. The soldiers here are replaced monthly, and they live in an old building, where there is still no water or electricity. Food and other things are delivered to them by ships of the Spanish Navy.



The Rock in the 1920s.

It is curious that Peñon de Vélez de la Gomera has always been an island. But after an earthquake in the mid-thirties of the last century, the local landscape changed, and the rock connected with Africa. So, in fact, the smallest land border has existed for 90 years.