Geography of Gibraltar

The territory covers 2.53 square miles (6.543 km²). It shares a three-quarter of a mile (1.2 km) land border with Spain and has 7½ mile (12 km) of shoreline. There are two coasts (sides) of Gibraltar – the East Side which contains the settlements of Sandy Bay and Catalan Bay, and the West Side where the vast majority of the population lives. The climate is Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers. Its terrain is a narrow coastal lowland bordering the 1,397.6 foot (426 m) high Rock of Gibraltar.

It has negligible natural resources and limited natural freshwater resources, until recently using large concrete or natural rock water catchments to collect rain water. It now has a desalination plant using reverse osmosis which is built into the rock itself.

Gibraltar is one of the most densely populated territories in the world, with approximately 11,154 people per square mile (4,290/km²). The growing demand for space is being increasingly met by land reclamation, which comprises approximately one tenth of the territory's total area.

The Rock itself is made of limestone and is 1,396 feet (426 m) high. It contains many miles of roads, most of which are closed to the public. Most of its area is covered by a nature reserve, which is home to around 250 Barbary Apes, the only wild monkeys in Europe. Superstition holds that if ever the Apes leave, so will the British; so they are well looked after by the government (a situation rather analogous to the ravens of the Tower of London).