Gibraltar consists of a long limestone outcropping. The highest point is 426 m.

Gibraltar is between the southern tip of Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar.

The Strait of Gibraltar divides Europe from Africa.

It is said that Hercules (a hero of Greek legend) decided to pull Africa and Spain apart, using Gibraltar and the Moroccan mountain of Jbel Musa as his handgrips. They are known as The Pillars of Hercules.

The Strait of Gibraltar occupies a strategic position linking the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Gibraltar covers an area of 6.5 square kilometers.

Over one hundred and forty caves have been found in the limestone Rock.

It was thought that Neanderthal man (Homo neanderthalensis), who lived in Asia and Western Europe around two hundred thousand years ago, became extinct about thirty thousand years ago. Evidence suggests that a group lived in Gorham's Cave in Gibraltar between twenty-eight and twenty-four thousand years ago.

The first Neanderthal skull found in Gibraltar was in Forbes' Quarry in 1848 and a second skull was discovered in the Devil’s Tower area in 1926.

Modern humans, who migrated from [East] Africa around one hundred thousand to seventy thousand years ago, inhabited the caves after the Neanderthals.

Gibraltar was visited by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks and Romans.

In 711 Gibraltar was captured by an Arab army under the leadership of Tariq Ibn Ziyad.

The Rock became known as Jebel Tariq - the Mountain of Tariq.

Spain took possession of Gibraltar in 1462 and annexed it to Spain (1501).

England gained Gibraltar in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession.

The British ruled Gibraltar under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht (1713).

The first Earl of Strafford, who negotiated the Treaty of Utrecht ceding Gibraltar to Britain in 1713, lived in Gifford Lodge opposite Twickenham Green which is now in the London Borough of Richmond.

Whilst the British were engaged in the American War of Independence (1775-1783), Spain and France laid siege to Gibraltar hoping to win the Rock.

During the Great Siege (July 1779 to February 1783), British soldiers tunneled 113 metres into the Rock creating an ingenious defence system: guns were mounted in openings from the tunnels.

In 1805 Admiral Nelson won the Battle of Trafalgar against the French and Spanish, near the western end of the Strait of Gibraltar. Nelson was mortally wounded in the battle.

Gibraltar is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.

The British monarch is Chief of State. A Governor and Commander-in-Chief is appointed.

Gibraltar is self-governing except in defence and foreign policy.

Gibraltarians gained full British citizenship in 1981.

In 1967 and 2002 the people of Gibraltar voted to remain British.

A referendum in 2006 confirmed Gibraltarian home rule.

In 2015 Gibraltar became the world's newest university city. International students are welcome to join local students to study subjects such as marine biology and palaeontology (in the very place which has an exciting discovery on its doorstep). The university will also have a School of Hospitality. There will be opportunities to study business, accounting and languages; all very relevant to Gibraltar's future.

In 2019 the Gibraltar Museum discovered fragments of a Gorgoneion, a ceramic representation of the Gorgon Medusa, in Gorham’s Cave.

His Excellency the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Benjamin Bathurst, KCVO, CBE, appointed by King Charles III, arrived in Gibraltar on 4th June 2024.