Rock+of+Gibraltar

=The Rock of Gibralter=

This rock is a gray limestone, shale, sandstone, and blue-black limestone that's full of tunnels and caves. The shale actually contains fossils from the Jurassic era! These fossils include echnoid spines, belmnite fragments, and ammonites.The limestone is made up of oral, brachiopods, echnoid fragments, gastropods, pelcypods, and stromatolites. All of these are marine animals that lived long ago in the Jurassic era. The Rock of Gibraltar is 1,398 feet tall at its highest point and is sometimes referred to by its Arabic name, the Rock of Tariq.

The Rock of Gibralter is located at the East end of the Strait of Gibraltar. It's been said that this huge rock was used by the Neanderthal's about 30,000 years ago. It was a habitat for them since they didn't have what you call "modern homes." During the time of Moorish rule, a castle was built atop the rock by a group of Berbers led by Tariq ibn-Zayad. Even though it was built around the year 710, parts of the castle remain there today.

In the late 1700s, after Gibraltar had been claimed by the British, the Spanish and French decided to take advantage of England's preoccupation with the American Revolution and tried to take control of the rock. The British soldiers began boring tunnels through the rock to defend it from every side. Tunneling through the rock for defensive purposes must have seemed like a good idea, because it continued, and today there are more than 30 miles of tunnels weaving through the Rock of Gibraltar.

During WWII, Gibraltar was of extreme strategic importance. Who ever controlled the rock also controlled the Straits of Gibraltar, and therefore controlled the way in and out of the Mediterranean Sea. The military evacuated all of the civillians out of Gibraltar in into Morocco, the UK, Jamaica, and Madeira so the entire country could be turned into a fortified base to defend the area against German attack.

Even though it was attacked many times throughout its history, the Rock of Gibraltar has never been taken. This has inspired the common phrase "as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar," which is often used to describe a person or situation that cannot be overcome.