Gibraltar Nature Reserve
protected area in Gibraltar
The Gibraltar Nature Reserve (formerly the Upper Rock Nature Reserve) is a protected nature reserve in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar that covers over 40% of the territory's land area. It was established as the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in 1993 under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's category Ia (strict nature reserve) and was last extended in 2013. It is known for its semi-wild population of Barbary macaques, and is an important resting point for migrating birds.
Location
Originally named the Upper Rock Nature Reserve, it was limited to the upper part of the Rock of Gibraltar, a long and narrow limestone peninsula that rises to a height of 426 metres (1,398 ft) above sea level. The Rock is part of the Betic Cordillera, formed about 200 million years ago.
From the crest of the rock there is a dramatic view of the area, including Spain across the Bay of Gibraltar and Jebel Musa of Morocco across the Strait of Gibraltar. It is an area of considerable natural beauty and one of the main tourist attractions in Gibraltar.
The Upper Rock area of the nature reserve can be reached by road or by the Gibraltar Cable Car, next to the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens.
Designation
The reserve was established in 1993 to protect the area of land that the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence had decommissioned from military use. Its purpose is to preserve the wildlife and natural and historical sites, while providing access to the public.
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This entry incorporates text from “Gibraltar Nature Reserve” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.