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Coordinates: 35°11′N 2°26′W / 35.183°N 2.433°W / 35.183; -2.433
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{{Short description|Spanish archipelago}}
{{Infobox disputed islands
{{Infobox islands
| plural = yes
| name = Chafarinas Islands
| name = Chafarinas Islands
| image name = Chafarinas desde el cabo de Agua (2).jpg
| image_name = Chafarinas desde el cabo de Agua (2).jpg
| image caption = Chafarinas Islands viewed from Morocco
| image_caption = Chafarinas Islands viewed from Morocco
| image size =
| image_size =
| locator map = Chafarinas.jpg
| image_map = Chafarinas.jpg
| map_custom =
| map_custom =
| native name =
| native_name =
| native name link =
| other_names =
| other_names =
| location = Mediterranean sea
| location = Mediterranean sea
| coordinates =
| coordinates =
| archipelago =
| archipelago =
| total islands = 3
| total_islands = 3
| major islands = [[Isla del Congreso]]<br/>[[Isla Isabel II]]<br/>[[Isla del Rey (Chafarinas)|Isla del Rey]]
| major_islands = [[Isla del Congreso]]<br/>[[Isla Isabel II]]<br/>[[Isla del Rey (Chafarinas)|Isla del Rey]]
| area = 52.5ha
| area_ha = 52.5
| length =
| length =
| width =
| width =
| coastline =
| coastline =
| highest mount =
| highest_mount =
| elevation =
| elevation =
| country = Spain
| country = Spain
| country claim = Morocco
}}
}}
[[File:Mapa del sur de España neutral.png|thumb|260px|[[Plazas de soberanía]]. The Islas Chafarinas are on the right.]]
[[File:Mapa del sur de España neutral.png|thumb|260px|{{lang|es|[[Plazas de soberanía]]}}. The Islas Chafarinas are on the right.]]
The '''Chafarinas Islands''' ({{lang-es|Islas Chafarinas}} {{IPA-es|ˈizlas tʃafaˈɾinas|IPA}}, [[Berber language|Berber]]: ''Igumamen Iceffaren'' or ''Takfarinas'', [[Arabic]]: جزر الشفارين or الجزر الجعفرية), also spelled '''Zafarin''', '''Djaferin'''<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104294/Chafarinas-Islands |title= Chafarinas Islands|year=2011|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref> or '''Zafarani''',<ref name="usps">{{cite web|url= http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immctry.htm |title= Index of Countries and Localities|year=2011|publisher=USPS|access-date=September 7, 2011}}</ref> are a group of three small [[islet]]s located in the [[Alboran Sea]] off the coast of [[Morocco]] with an aggregate area of {{convert|0.525|km2|3|abbr=out}}, {{convert|45|km|1|abbr=on}} to the east of [[Nador]] and {{convert|3.3|km|1|abbr=on}} off the Moroccan town of [[Ras Kebdana]].
The '''Chafarinas Islands''' ({{langx|es|Islas Chafarinas}} {{IPA|es|ˈislas tʃafaˈɾinas|IPA}}, {{langx|ber-Latn|Igumamen Iceffaren}} or {{lang|ber-Latn|Takfarinas}}, {{langx|ar|جزر الشفارين}} or {{lang|ar|الجزر الجعفرية}}), also spelled '''Zafarin''', '''Djaferin'''<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/104294/Chafarinas-Islands |title=Chafarinas Islands |year=2011 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=September 7, 2011 }}</ref> or '''Zafarani''',<ref name="usps">{{cite web |url=http://pe.usps.com/text/imm/immctry.htm |title= Index of Countries and Localities |year=2011 |publisher=[[United States Postal Service]] |access-date=September 7, 2011 }}</ref> are a group of three small [[Spain|Spanish]] [[islet]]s located in the [[Alboran Sea]] off the coast of [[Morocco]] with an aggregate area of {{convert|0.525|km2|3|abbr=out}}, {{convert|45|km|1|abbr=on}} to the east of [[Nador]] and {{convert|3.3|km|1|abbr=on}} off the Moroccan town of [[Ras Kebdana]].


The Chafarinas Islands are one of the [[Spain|Spanish]] territories in North Africa off the Moroccan coast known as ''[[plazas de soberanía]]''.
The Chafarinas Islands are one of the Spanish territories in North Africa off the Moroccan coast known as {{lang|es|[[plazas de soberanía]]}}.


==History==
==History==
These offshore islands were probably the {{lang|la|Tres Insulae}} of the Romans and the {{lang|ar-Latn|Zafrān}} of the Arabs.<ref>{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Chaffarinas|volume=5|page=800}}</ref>
These offshore islands were uninhabited and unclaimed in 1848, when the French government decided to occupy them, in order to monitor the tribes living in the border area between Morocco and French Algeria. A small expedition under the command of Colonel MacMahon (the future [[Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta|Marshal MacMahon]]) left Oran by sea and by land in January 1848 to take possession of the islands. Forewarned by its consul in Oran, Spain, which also coveted the Chafarinas, quickly dispatched a warship to the islands from Malaga. When the French arrived, the Spaniards had already taken possession of the islands in the name of Queen Isabel II.<ref>''L'Exploration'', Paris, vol. 18, 2nd semester 1884, p. 531.</ref>
They were uninhabited and unclaimed in 1848, when the French government decided to occupy them, in order to monitor the tribes living in the border area between Morocco and French Algeria. A small expedition under the command of Colonel MacMahon (the future [[Patrice de MacMahon, Duke of Magenta|Marshal MacMahon]]) left Oran by sea and by land in January 1848 to take possession of the islands. Forewarned by its consul in Oran, Spain, which also coveted the Chafarinas, quickly dispatched a warship to the islands from Malaga. When the French arrived, the Spaniards had already taken possession of the islands in the name of Queen Isabel II.<ref>''L'Exploration'', Paris, vol. 18, 2nd semester 1884, p. 531.</ref>


==Geography==
==Geography==
Line 36: Line 35:


* [[Isla del Congreso]] (25.6 ha)
* [[Isla del Congreso]] (25.6 ha)
* [[Isla Isabel II]] (15.3 ha) (with garrison)
* [[Isla de Isabel II]] (15.3 ha) (with garrison)
* [[Isla del Rey (Chafarinas)|Isla del Rey]] (11.6 ha).
* [[Isla del Rey, Chafarinas|Isla del Rey]] (11.6 ha).


Under Spanish control since 1847, there is a 30-man<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20140415/54405035466/unos-30-militares-integran-guarnicion-militar-que-vigila-las-islas-chafarinas.html|title=Unos 30 militares integran guarnición militar que vigila las islas Chafarinas}}</ref> military garrison on Isla Isabel II, the only stable population on the small archipelago, down from 426 people in 1900 and 736 people in 1910. Small numbers of scientists, anti-trafficking police, and other authorized personnel sometimes increase the population to around 50.
Under Spanish control since 1847, there is a 30-man<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20140415/54405035466/unos-30-militares-integran-guarnicion-militar-que-vigila-las-islas-chafarinas.html|title=Unos 30 militares integran guarnición militar que vigila las islas Chafarinas}}</ref> military garrison on Isla Isabel II, the only stable population on the small archipelago, down from 426 people in 1900 and 736 people in 1910. Small numbers of scientists, anti-trafficking police, and other authorized personnel sometimes increase the population to around 50.


==Natural history==
==Natural history==
The islands had a certain relevance in Spanish environmentalist circles during the 1980s and 1990s as the last individual of [[Mediterranean monk seal]] in Spanish territory lived there until it disappeared in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consumer.es/web/es/medio_ambiente/naturaleza/2006/05/29/152429.php|title=Foca monje del Mediterráneo - EROSKI CONSUMER|first=EROSKI CONSUMER|last=(http://WWW.CONSUMER.ES/)|access-date=2007-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210927/http://www.consumer.es/web/es/medio_ambiente/naturaleza/2006/05/29/152429.php|archive-date=2018-06-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nine out of eleven of its [[marine invertebrates]] are considered [[endangered species]] and it is the home of the second largest colony of endangered [[Audouin's gull]] in the world.<ref name = ElPais>Ceberia, Monica et al (17 September 2012) [http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/09/17/inenglish/1347895561_857013.html The last remains of the empire] El Pais in English, Retrieved 24 September 2012</ref> The islands have been recognised as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]] because they support, as well as the Audouin's gull colony, a breeding colony of [[Scopoli's shearwater]]s, with some 800–1,000 breeding pairs estimated in 2001–2004.<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/chafarinas-islands-iba-spain|title= Chafarinas Islands|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 14 February 2021}}</ref>
The islands had relevance in Spanish environmentalist circles during the 1980s and 1990s, as the last individual of [[Mediterranean monk seal]] in Spanish territory lived there until it disappeared in the 1990s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.consumer.es/web/es/medio_ambiente/naturaleza/2006/05/29/152429.php|title=Foca monje del Mediterráneo |website=Eroski Consumer |access-date=2007-12-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613210927/http://www.consumer.es/web/es/medio_ambiente/naturaleza/2006/05/29/152429.php|archive-date=2018-06-13}}</ref> Nine out of eleven of its [[marine invertebrates]] are considered [[endangered species]] and it is the home of the second largest colony of endangered [[Audouin's gull]] in the world.<ref name = ElPais>Ceberia, Monica et al (17 September 2012) [http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/09/17/inenglish/1347895561_857013.html The last remains of the empire] El Pais in English, Retrieved 24 September 2012</ref> The islands have been recognised as an [[Important Bird Area]] (IBA) by [[BirdLife International]] because they support, as well as the Audouin's gull colony, a breeding colony of [[Scopoli's shearwater]]s, with some 800–1,000 breeding pairs estimated in 2001–2004.<ref name=bli>{{cite web |url=http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/chafarinas-islands-iba-spain|title= Chafarinas Islands|author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2021|website= BirdLife Data Zone|publisher= BirdLife International|access-date= 14 February 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Chafarinas Islands.jpg|thumb|Map of Chafarinas Islands]]


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
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<!-- Deleted image removed: File:Plaza de soberania.gif|19th-century Spanish map showing the Chafarinas Islands -->
<!-- Deleted image removed: File:Plaza de soberania.gif|19th-century Spanish map showing the Chafarinas Islands -->
File:Chafarinas desde el cabo de Agua.jpg|Islas Chafarinas as seen from [[Cabo de Agua]]
File:Chafarinas desde el cabo de Agua.jpg|Islas Chafarinas as seen from [[Cabo de Agua]]
File:Korallenmöve seitlich.jpg|[[Audouin's gull]], one of the numerous inhabitants on the islands
File:Korallenmöve seitlich.jpg|[[Audouin's gull]], a [[Vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] species breeding on the islands
File:Isla de Isabel II desde el cabo de Agua.jpg|Island of Isabel II
File:Isla de Isabel II desde el cabo de Agua.jpg|Island of Isabel II
File:Iglesia de la Purísima Concepción (Chafarinas) en 1893.jpg|Church of la Purísima Concepción on the island of Isabel II in 1893
File:Iglesia de la Purísima Concepción (Chafarinas) en 1893.jpg|Church of la Purísima Concepción on the island of Isabel II in 1893
Line 56: Line 56:


== See also ==
== See also ==
{{EB1911 poster|Chaffarinas}}
* [[Plazas de soberanía]]
* [[Plazas de soberanía]]
* [[List of islands of Spain]]
* [[List of Spanish Colonial Wars in Morocco]]
* [[List of Spanish Colonial Wars in Morocco]]
* [[Spanish Protectorate of Morocco]]
* [[Spanish Protectorate of Morocco]]

Latest revision as of 01:29, 17 November 2024

Chafarinas Islands
Chafarinas Islands viewed from Morocco
Geography
LocationMediterranean sea
Total islands3
Major islandsIsla del Congreso
Isla Isabel II
Isla del Rey
Area52.5 ha (130 acres)
Administration
Spain
Plazas de soberanía. The Islas Chafarinas are on the right.

The Chafarinas Islands (Spanish: Islas Chafarinas IPA: [ˈislas tʃafaˈɾinas], Berber languages: Igumamen Iceffaren or Takfarinas, Arabic: جزر الشفارين or الجزر الجعفرية), also spelled Zafarin, Djaferin[1] or Zafarani,[2] are a group of three small Spanish islets located in the Alboran Sea off the coast of Morocco with an aggregate area of 0.525 square kilometres (0.203 sq mi), 45 km (28.0 mi) to the east of Nador and 3.3 km (2.1 mi) off the Moroccan town of Ras Kebdana.

The Chafarinas Islands are one of the Spanish territories in North Africa off the Moroccan coast known as plazas de soberanía.

History

[edit]

These offshore islands were probably the Tres Insulae of the Romans and the Zafrān of the Arabs.[3] They were uninhabited and unclaimed in 1848, when the French government decided to occupy them, in order to monitor the tribes living in the border area between Morocco and French Algeria. A small expedition under the command of Colonel MacMahon (the future Marshal MacMahon) left Oran by sea and by land in January 1848 to take possession of the islands. Forewarned by its consul in Oran, Spain, which also coveted the Chafarinas, quickly dispatched a warship to the islands from Malaga. When the French arrived, the Spaniards had already taken possession of the islands in the name of Queen Isabel II.[4]

Geography

[edit]

The Chafarinas Islands are made up of three islands (from west to east, with areas in hectares):

Under Spanish control since 1847, there is a 30-man[5] military garrison on Isla Isabel II, the only stable population on the small archipelago, down from 426 people in 1900 and 736 people in 1910. Small numbers of scientists, anti-trafficking police, and other authorized personnel sometimes increase the population to around 50.

Natural history

[edit]

The islands had relevance in Spanish environmentalist circles during the 1980s and 1990s, as the last individual of Mediterranean monk seal in Spanish territory lived there until it disappeared in the 1990s.[6] Nine out of eleven of its marine invertebrates are considered endangered species and it is the home of the second largest colony of endangered Audouin's gull in the world.[7] The islands have been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because they support, as well as the Audouin's gull colony, a breeding colony of Scopoli's shearwaters, with some 800–1,000 breeding pairs estimated in 2001–2004.[8]

Map of Chafarinas Islands
[edit]
  • Islas Chafarinas as seen from Cabo de Agua
    Islas Chafarinas as seen from Cabo de Agua
  • Audouin's gull, a Vulnerable species breeding on the islands
    Audouin's gull, a Vulnerable species breeding on the islands
  • Island of Isabel II
    Island of Isabel II
  • Church of la Purísima Concepción on the island of Isabel II in 1893
    Church of la Purísima Concepción on the island of Isabel II in 1893
  • Coat of arms of the Chafarinas Islands
    Coat of arms of the Chafarinas Islands
  • Chafarinas Islands viewed from Ras El Ma, Morocco
    Chafarinas Islands viewed from Ras El Ma, Morocco

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chafarinas Islands.
  1. ^ "Chafarinas Islands". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  2. ^ "Index of Countries and Localities". United States Postal Service. 2011. Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  3. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chaffarinas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 800.
  4. ^ L'Exploration, Paris, vol. 18, 2nd semester 1884, p. 531.
  5. ^ "Unos 30 militares integran guarnición militar que vigila las islas Chafarinas".
  6. ^ "Foca monje del Mediterráneo". Eroski Consumer. Archived from the original on 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
  7. ^ Ceberia, Monica et al (17 September 2012) The last remains of the empire El Pais in English, Retrieved 24 September 2012
  8. ^ "Chafarinas Islands". BirdLife Data Zone. BirdLife International. 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.

35°11′N 2°26′W / 35.183°N 2.433°W / 35.183; -2.433

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