CHAPTER XIX

STRANGE ROCK FORMATIONS—GIBRALTAR

A huge projecting limestone rock, in form like a reclining lion, guards the entrance to the narrow water passage which separates Europe from Africa. This wonderful feature, the Rock of Gibraltar, extends directly southward from the mainland of Spain with which it is connected by a low, sandy isthmus. It is about three miles in length and in breadth varies from one-fourth to three-fourths of a mile. Two depressions divide it into three summits, the highest of which is about fourteen hundred feet.

Let us visit the small city lying at its western base and then carefully examine this leviathan sentinel that seems to stand guard over the narrow strait. The special permission of the military commander to examine it or even to remain in the city must first be obtained; we are especially warned that cameras are forbidden and all negatives will be confiscated.

The north face we find to have an almost perpendicular height of twelve hundred feet; its east and west sides also display tremendous precipices. The south face is much lower and slopes toward the sea. Fortifications of massive walls and the best of modern guns protect the lower parts and also the seaward side of the city.

But what are those holes high up on the faces of the rock? They are portholes cut through the rock from interior chambers out of which cannon can be thrust and discharged at an invading enemy. We are curious to learn more about this interesting place, and on questioning our guide are told many remarkable stories.

The Rock of Gibraltar is honeycombed with caves, passageways, and chambers, some of which are natural and others artificial. We enter the largest of these natural caves, St. Michael's, and as we stand in the main hall, a spacious chamber two hundred feet in length and seventy feet in height, we are amazed at its beauty and grandeur. Colossal columns of stalactites seem to support its ornamental roof and all around are fantastic figures—foliage of many forms, beautiful statuettes, pillars, pendants, and shapes of picturesque beauty rivalling those of Mammoth Cave. St. Michael's Cave is eleven hundred feet above sea level and is connected by winding passages with four other caves of a similar character.

This strong and impregnable place is the Rock of Gibraltar, and the city nestling at its base, Gibraltar
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