There are particular borders, either because of their natural landscapes, their militarization or their great height. However, there is one that is unique. We invite you to get to know Vélez de la Gomera, the shortest border segment in the world. If we order all the borders by their extension, the longest of all will be the one that separates Canada from the United States. It reaches 8,891 kilometers and is divided into two sections: one in southern Canada and the other in the west, where the state of Alaska is located. But if we only contemplate continuous segments of the border, the record goes to Eurasia: we will be able to travel for 7,644 kilometers with Russia on one side and Kazakhstan on the other. At the other extreme, the shortest border in the world is the one that divides Botswana from Zambia. There are only 150 meters of border between both states, where the Caprivi Strip is located. But if we take just one segment, that record can be broken. Spain and Morocco have land limits in three sectors. The Spanish cities Ceuta and Melilla are located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by Moroccan lands. Between the two they add 16 kilometers of border, so it is far from being the shortest on the planet. But there is a third very striking segment. Almost halfway between the two cities is the Vélez de la Gomera rock. It has about 19,000 square meters, something like two soccer fields. Still, it would be difficult trying to play a game there, as the terrain is so steep. In fact, in that small territory it reaches 87 meters in height. It is a sort of large rock located in front of a Moroccan beach. Until 1930 there was no land limit, since Vélez de la Gomera was an island. But an earthquake that had its epicenter in Fez generated a great movement of the tectonic plates. One of the consequences was that a large amount of sand was deposited in the place, which caused the island to become a rock. Thus, Vélez de la Gomera joined the mainland. Overnight, a new international boundary emerged that exists to this day. They are only 85 meters in total, so we could walk it very calmly in just a minute. People live on both sides of the border, but there is no customs control. That is why, strictly speaking, it is not legal to cross the limit. On the Moroccan side we find Bades beach, which can be reached from other places by a road that is not in the best conditions. On the Spanish side, the place is only inhabited by a few dozen soldiers who arrive by sea from Europe and rotate their duties. Beyond the defense of sovereignty in the place, the truth is that the rock does not have much strategic and even less economic relevance. So much so that, more than a century ago, its abandonment or even its detonation was proposed, but these proposals never advanced. On the ground, what we find today is a blue rope that goes from one coast to the other and that reaches, as we saw, 85 meters. We cannot stop thinking about other international limits that are so dissimilar. Huge walls, infinite deserts, high peaks. It has little to do with a rope in the middle of a sandy beach. This piece of territory in Spain may seem strange, but it is not unique. There are other Spanish territories in North Africa that consolidate this country as a bicontinental country. Many will think of Ceuta and Melilla, which we already mentioned. These cities are relatively well-known and we won't delve into them, but there are other places that go under the radar and have depended on Madrid for centuries. About 40 kilometers east of Vélez de la Gomera we find the Alhucemas Islands. There are three in total: the Isla de Tierra, the Isla de Mar and the Peñon de Alhucemas. The first two are uninhabited, but the last one does have a human presence. It has a military detachment and came to house 350 people simultaneously. From there the Mediterranean is monitored and the circulation of illegal boats is warned. Further to the east, also off the coast of Morocco but very close to Algeria, is another archipelago, the Chafarinas. There are also three islands: Congreso, Rey Francisco and Isabel II. Only the last one is inhabited, also with soldiers that rotate periodically. In 2021, a diplomatic conflict began between Spain and Morocco over this archipelago. A Moroccan company had installed a fish farm in the territorial waters of the Chafarinas without Spanish authorization. This fish farm had obtained permits but issued by the authorities of the African country, which denies Spanish sovereignty over the waters of the place. There are some movements that defend the idea of a Greater Morocco. They argue that the Spanish territories in North Africa actually correspond to Morocco, as well as the entire area of Western Sahara. On the Spanish side, they maintain that these cities and islands have been under their rule since long before Morocco existed as a state. But if we talk about a conflict between these two countries, we cannot ignore what happened on Perejil Island. It is a small rocky island that reaches 500 meters long. It is also located off the African coast and was the scene of a dispute in 2002 that gradually escalated. In July of that year, a group of Moroccan sailors occupied the place, which was uninhabited, and raised the flag of their country. The Spanish government, which considers the island as its own, began negotiations for them to withdraw. Days passed and, without much success, Spain decided to resort to force. An aerial operation was launched and the Moroccans who were on the island were captured. Thus, the Spanish army evicted the occupants and handed them over to their country as if they had been illegal immigrants. The dispute was extended, although later an agreement was reached. It would return to the previous situation, which is the one that governs until today. The island is uninhabited and does not have any symbol of sovereignty of either of the two countries, despite the fact that both consider it their own. Is there any other Spanish territory missing in North Africa? Between Vélez de la Gomera, Ceuta, Melilla and the aforementioned islands, many will think that there is nothing left. But we can also group together a much better known archipelago, the Canary Islands. In this case we will no longer be within the Mediterranean Sea, but in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of kilometers to the south. Two million people live there. But there are so many curiosities that there is material for a separate video. Would you like us to do it? If this video reaches 50,000 likes we do it. We invite you to subscribe to Un Mundo Inmenso. And also to become a member. With a monthly contribution you will help us to continue with the channel. 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