This border between Spain and Morocco is unbelievably short and has an intriguing tale

Nations across the world are still divided by boundaries even though communication tools and online interaction have brought people and cultures closer. Although most borders are calm, there are some that are volatile and attempts are made by humanity to go past these divisions. Among the most fascinating international borders is the one between Morocco and Spain which is known for being the shortest border in the world at just 85 meters.

Penon de Velez de la Gomera is connected to the Moroccan sandy isthmus shore and is also tied to a smaller islet to the east called  La Isleta. Penon de Velez de la Gomera has been a part of the Spanish territory since 1564 when Admiral Pedro de Estopiñán conquered it.

For most of its history, Penon de Velez de la Gomera was just a rocky isle off the Moroccan coast until it was used as a refuge and a base of operations by a group of local pirates who regularly attacked Spanish vessels across the Mediterranean Sea.

As a result, the Spanish naval brigade led by Pedro Navarro captured the island back in 1508. In the coming years, the island's ownership changed hands quite a few times until it was finally recaptured by the Spaniards in 1564. 

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is located 119 km (74 mi) southeast of Ceuta and was a natural island in the Alboran Sea until 1930, when a huge earthquake hit the area and moved the Iberian and the African Plates against each other, which later turned the island into a peninsula connected to the Moroccan coast by an 85 metre (279 ft) long sandy isthmus.

Currently, the Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is inhabited by Spanish troops responsible for the security of the area and soldiers are rotated every month. They live in modest accommodations without basic facilities like running water or electricity and are dependent on Spanish naval ships that deliver supplies to them constantly.

Back in 2012, the territory was briefly invaded by seven Moroccan activists belonging to the Committee for the Liberation of Ceuta and Melilla, whose leader was Yahya Yahya. The incident was preceded by constant messages from Morocco in 2011 about the sovereignty of several Spanish territories in North Africa, including the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

Later four of these activists were arrested by Spanish soldiers who guard the territory and the other three managed to escape back into the Moroccan territory. While Penon de Velez de la Gomera has the shortest international border, there are borders like Kazungula, Botswana, and Zambia border which are also among the smallest international borders. If you were to take a look at the map of southern Africa, you may notice two tripoints separated by a ridiculously short sliver of territory across the Zambezi River. This 157-meter area between the two tripoints is the present-day international border between Namibia and Zimbabwe.  

Up until very recently, the only way one could cross the 157-meter-long border between Zambia and Botswana was by ferry.