Geography
The Chafarinas Islands are made up of three islands (with areas in hectares):
- Isla del Congreso (25.6 ha)
- Isla Isabel II (15.3 ha) (with garrison)
- Isla del Rey (11.6 ha)
Under Spanish control since 1847, there is a 190-man 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.
The islands had a certain relevance in Spanish environmentalist circles during the 1980s and 1990s as the very last individual of Mediterranean Monk Seal in Spanish territory lived there, until it disappeared in the 1990s. Nine out of 11 marine invertebrates considered endangered species and the second largest colony in the world of the endangered Audouin's gull inhabit the islands.
Read more about this topic: Chafarinas Islands
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