The Rock of Gibraltar, sometimes called the Pillar of Hercules is located in Gibraltar, off the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. It is 426 meters (1,396 feet) high.

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic Jurassic limestone promontory. The geological formation was created when the African tectonic plate collided tightly with Europe about 55 million years ago. The Mediterranean became a lake that, in the course of time, dried up. About five million years ago the Atlantic Ocean broke through the Strait of Gibraltar, and the resultant flooding created the Mediterranean Sea. This spectacular rock monolith covers a land area of about six square kilometres and overlooks the African coast.

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