Europa Road, Gibraltar

Although it doesn't look very regal, Prince Edward's Gate was one of the main entrances into the British colony of Gibraltar. It was opened in 1790 through a defensive wall that was built in the 1500s. Prince Edward was Queen Victoria's father. [2015]

Moorish Castle Estate, Gibraltar

You know what's coming when you see a building crane on the horizon: Progress! That means more reaching for the sky. If you are Gibraltar, you can't go horizontal, so you go vertical. The downside: Any vertical development changes the viewshed. What elements of the landscape suffer most? Remnants of the past, such as this Moorish castle. [2015]

City Centre, Gibraltar

In the tradition of Roman Catholicism, saints are remembered on the day they died (rather than they day they were born). Here is a secular saint (among some!) who died on this date more than half a century ago. His name: Che Guevara. What is he doing on this sign? [2015]

City Centre, Gibraltar

Here is what Main Street in Gibraltar looks like. The only puzzle is its name. In this British colony, why wouldn't the main street be called High Street? Theory: Gibraltar's business district did not evolve along a highway. Highways lead somewhere; Gibraltar is a dead end. [2015]

Begg Estate, Gibraltar

Gibraltar covers only 2.6 square miles, but The Rock itself covers at least half of that. So, what happens when the population keeps increasing? There are only two options: (1) Go vertical: Build high-rises. (2) Go horizontal: Build out into the sea. You can see the results of both processes from the Gibraltar Cable Car. [2015]

Upper Rock, Gibraltar

Buttercups enjoy the view from atop The Rock just as much as humans do. But the views are different: Humans look down at the harbor; buttercups look up at the sun. [2015]

The Rock, Gibraltar

Homo sapiens vs. Macaca sylvanus. Primates both: forward facing eyes, bony ridge above eyes, domed cranium, prehensile hands, opposable thumbs, pentadactyly, nails not claws, flexible shoulders and hips, ability to stand or sit erect, complex social behavior. Wait! Go back. What's pentadactyly? [2015]

The Rock, Gibraltar

If you are flying into Gibraltar, prepare to be agog when you see the famous rock, but also prepare for the experience of landing on one of the world's great tombolos: a sedimentary isthmus that connects The Rock to the mainland and offers enough flat land (a rarity in these parts) for airport runways. [2015]

City Centre, Gibraltar

Main Street is the busiest shopping corridor in Gibraltar. And, here are some shoppers who look like they just purchased a tyke. That will keep them busy for the next fifteen years. [2015]

Upper Rock, Gibraltar

Barbary macaques are all over the Rock of Gibraltar, but to see their conservation status go to the authoritative source, the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List. Surprise: They're listed as "endangered." Maybe over their entire range, they are endangered, but numbers are increasing here in Gibraltar. Do you see why? [2015]

Castle Road, Gibraltar

The Visigoths lost the Rock in 711 to the Moors under the command of Jebal Tariq, hence the geographical name Gibraltar. The Moors lost the Rock in 1462 to the Spaniards under the command of Juan Alonso de Guzman, hence nothing. If you want to be remembered, get your name attached to the landscape and become part of a map. It guarantees immortality. [2015]

Queensway Quay, Gibraltar

Geography is worth defending! No, not the study of geography, the reality of geography: the importance of location on the earth's surface. For Britain, one location that mattered was the Rock of Gibraltar. It guarded the one and only passage into the Mediterranean, and it was probably the most heavily fortified location in Europe. [2015]

City Centre, Gibraltar

Bib overalls on the streets of urban Gibraltar? Where's the farm? Maybe he just disembarked from a cruise ship for a few hours. Not too many cruise lines allow you to bring your pet rabbit on board, though. [2015]

Queensway Quay, Gibraltar

Queensway Quay Marina extends Gibraltar's terra firma just a little bit farther out into the harbor. The redevelopment of historic Ragged Staff Wharf began in 1990, but the the 'breakwater' island was not added until the 21st century. Now, the marina looks like an aqueous town square that has been turned into a parking lot: for yachts. [2015]

Upper Rock, Gibraltar

What does it look like walking down from the Upper Rock? Take a gander. Eventually the nature reserve gives way to the city, a wedge of 30,000 people still loyal to the British (more or less). How do you explain the abundance of high-rises in a city the size of Goshen, Indiana? [2015]

City Centre, Gibraltar

Could it be that Diagon Alley is actually in Gibraltar? Was the Leaky Cauldron just a front? After all, it looks like Harry Potter's cousin has found a new broomstick somewhere nearby. And, what better environment could you find for training on a broomstick than the British colony's famous rock? [2015]

The Rock, Gibraltar

So many of us have learned to call Gibraltar's other primate inhabitants Barbary Apes, but they are really monkeys. We should call them Barbary Macaques. A few hundred inhabit the Rock of Gibraltar; their nearest kin are in the mountains of North Africa (hence, Barbary). [2015]

The Rock, Gibraltar

Whether you approach by land, sea, or air, the Rock of Gibraltar dominates all vistas. It's geology is ordinary: simply limestone. Its geography extraordinary: simply spellbinding. [2015]