Today, it's a little piece of the European continent populated mostly by Gibraltarians (of mixed Genoese, Jewish, Spanish and British ancestry), along with sizeable British and Moroccan minorities. Signs are in English but the languages spoken are English, Spanish and a curious mix of the two.
Area: 6.5 sq km
Population: 30,000
Country: Spain
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: 350
Orientation
Gibraltar is the imposing glob of sand and limestone which rounds off the Iberian Peninsula, where Spain reaches for Africa. It's linked to Spain by a narrow isthmus at the southern end of Andalucía. To the east are the Costa Del Sol and the Mediterranean; to the west lie the Strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean; heading south will bring you to Morocco.
The territory is 5km (3.1mi) long and 1km (0.62mi) wide; most of it is one huge lump of limestone 426m (1397ft) high. Immediately south of the Spanish border, the road crosses the airport runway. The town and harbors of Gibraltar lie along the Rock's less steep west side, facing the Bahía de Algeciras (Bay of Gibraltar). To reach Gibraltar by land you must pass through the Spanish border town of La Línea de la Concepción, 20km (12.4mi) east of Algeciras and about 4 hours from Seville.
