The Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Spain on the north and Morocco on the south. The Strait of Gibraltar, which lies at the west end of the Alboran Sea, connects the Mediterranean with the Atlantic. The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... The Strait of Gibraltar as seen from space. ...

Surface currents in the Alboran Sea flow eastward, bringing water from the Atlantic into Mediterranean; deeper subsurface currents flow westward, carrying saltier Mediterranean water into the Atlantic. The Alboran Sea is a transition zone between the two seas, containing a mix of Mediterranean and Atlantic species. The Alboran Sea is habitat for the largest population of Bottlenose Dolphins in the western Mediterranean, is home to the last population of harbour porpoises in the Mediterranean, and is the most important feeding grounds for Loggerhead Sea Turtles in Europe. The Alboran sea also hosts important commercial fisheries, including sardines and swordfish. In 2003, the World Wildlife Fund raised concerns about the widespread drift net fishing endangering populations of dolphins, turtles, and other marine animals. Binomial name Tursiops truncatus Montagu, 1821 The Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is the most common and well-known dolphin species. ... Binomial name Phocoena phocoena Linnaeus, 1758 Harbour Porpoise range The Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) is one of six species of porpoise, and so one of about eighty cetacean species. ... As with other sea turtles, females return to lay their eggs on or near the same beach where they hatched. ... Sardines or pilchards are a group of several types of small oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. ... This article is about a type of fish, for other uses see Swordfish (disambiguation) Binomial name Xiphias gladius Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill in contrast to the smooth, round bill of the marlins. ... Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ...

Several small islands dot the sea, including the Isla de Alborán. Most are controlled by Spain, although they lie closer to the Moroccan shore. Isla de Alborán is an island on the Alborán Sea, located about 1/3 of the way from Morocco to Spain. ...

An arc of mountains, known as the Gibraltar Arc, wraps around the northern, western, and southern sides of the Alboran Sea. The Gibraltar Arc is made up of the Baetic Cordillera of southern Spain and the Rif Mountains of Morocco. These mountains, known to ecologists as the Baetic-Rifan complex, are one of the Mediterranean's biodiversity hotspots; like the Alboran sea, the Baetic-Rifan complex is a transition between the Mediterranean and Atlantic (Macaronesian) ecologies. The moderating influence of the Atlantic has allowed many species in the Baetic and Rif mountains to survive the climactic fluctuations of the last few million years that caused them to become extinct elsewhere around the Mediterranean basin. The Baetic Cordillera is a mountain system in southern Spain. ... This is about a region in Morocco: RIF is also an acronym/initialism. ... A Biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. ... Macaronesia is a modern invented collective name for several groups of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa. ...