In which body of water is Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera island located?

Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is a Spanish exclave and rocky tidal island in the western Mediterranean Sea connected to the Moroccan shore by a sandy isthmus. It is also connected to a smaller islet to the east, La Isleta, by a rocky isthmus. The tidal island was named Hajar Badis (Rock of Badis) and was connected to the town of Badis.

Vélez de la Gomera, along with La Isleta, is a premodern overseas possession known as a plaza de soberanía. It is administered by the Spanish central government and has a population consisting only of a small number of Spanish military personnel.

Its border with Morocco is 80 m (260 ft) long, making it one of the shortest international borders in the world.

Portugal and Spain passed an agreement in 1496 in which they effectively established their zones of influence on the North African coast. As a result, Spain could occupy territory only east of Peñón de Vélez. This restriction ended with the Iberian Union of Portugal and Spain in 1580 under Philip II after the 1578 Battle of Alcácer Quibir, when Spain started to take direct actions in Morocco, as in the occupation of Larache.

Now Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera is governed by direct rule from Madrid.