700 ft. below the existing level. This would account for the ledges and platforms which have been formed by erosion of the sea high above the present sea-level, and for the deposits of calcareous sandstone containing sea shells of existing Mediterranean species. The extent of some of these eroded ledges shows that pauses of long duration intervened between the periods of depression. The Rock seems after this to have been raised to a level considerably above that at which it now stands; Europe and Africa would then again have been united. At a later date still the Rock sank once more to its present level.
Many caves, some of them of great extent, penetrate the interior of the rock; the best known of these are the Genista and St Michael’s caves. St Michael’s cave, about 1100 ft. above sea-level at its mouth, slopes rapidly down and extends over 400 ft. into the Rock; its extreme limits have not, however, been fully explored. It consists of a series of five or more chambers of considerable extent, connected by narrow and crooked passages. The outermost cave is 70 ft. in height and 200 in length, with massive pillars of stalactite reaching from roof to floor. The second cave was named the Victoria cave by its discoverer Captain Brome; beyond these are three caves known as the Leonora caves. “Nothing,” writes Captain Brome, “can exceed the beauty of the stalactites; they form clusters of every imaginable shape—statuettes, pillars, foliages, figures,” and he adds that American visitors have admitted that even the Mammoth cave itself could not rival these giant stalactites in picturesque beauty.
The mammalian remains of the Genista cave have been described by G. Busk (“Quaternary Fauna of Gibraltar” in Trans. of Zool. Soc. vol. x. p. 2, 1877). They were found to contain remains of a bear, probably Ursus fossilis of Goldfuss; of a hyena, H. crocuta or spelaea; of cats varying from a leopard to a wild cat in size; of a rhinoceros, resembling in species remains found in the Thames valley; two forms of ibex; the hare and rabbit. No trace has been found as yet of Rhinoceros tichorinus, of Ursus spelaeus or of the reindeer; and of the elephant only a molar tooth of Elephas antiquus.
Further details may be found in the Quarterly Journ. of Geol. Soc. (James Smith of Jordanhill), vol. ii. and in vol. xxi. (Fossil Contents of the Genista Cave, G. Busk and Hugh Falconer; reprinted in Palaeontological Memoirs, H. Falconer, London, 1868).
Flora.—The upper part of the Rock is in summer burnt up and brown, but after the first autumn rains and during the winter, spring and early summer, it abounds in wild flowers and shrubs. In the public and other gardens on the lower ground, where there is a greater depth of soil, the vegetation is luxuriant and is only limited by the supply of water available for summer irrigation. Dr E. F. Kelaart (Flora Calpensis, London, 1846) enumerates more than four hundred varieties of plants and ferns indigenous to Gibraltar, and about fifty more which have been introduced from abroad. Of the former a few are said to be species peculiar to the Rock. The stone-pine and wild-olive are perhaps the only trees found growing in a natural state. In the public and private gardens and by the roadside may be seen the pepper tree, the plane, the white poplar, the acacia, the bella-sombra (Phytolacca dioica), the eucalyptus or blue gum tree, and palms of different species; and, of fruit trees, the orange, lemon, fig, pomegranate, loquat and almond. The aloe, flowering aloe and prickly pear are common, and on the eastern side of the Rock the palmito or dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis) is abundant.
Fauna.—The fauna of Gibraltar, from want of space, is necessarily scanty. The Barbary apes, said to be the only wild monkeys in Europe, are still to be found on the upper part of the Rock, but in very reduced numbers; about the beginning of the 20th century four or five only remained, which were said to be all females; a young male, however, was brought from Africa. The last male of the original stock, an old patriarch, who had died shortly before this, is believed to have killed and, it is said, eaten all the young ones. A small variety of pigeon breeds in the steep cliffs at the north end of the Rock. A few red-legged partridges, some rabbits, two or three foxes and a badger or two will complete the list.
Climate.—The climate of Gibraltar is pleasant and healthy, mild in winter, and only moderately hot in summer; but the heat, though not excessive, is lasting. The three months of June, July and August are almost always without rain, and it is not often that rain falls in the months of May and September. The first autumn rains, however, which sometimes begin in September, are usually heavy. From October to May the climate is for the most part delightful, warm sunshine prevailing, tempered by cool breezes; the spells of bad weather, although blustering enough at times, are seldom of more than a few days’ duration. The thermometer in summer does not often reach 90° F. in the shade; from 83° to 85° may be taken to be the average maximum for July and August, and these are the hottest months of the year. The average yearly rainfall is 34.4 in., and in fifty years from 1857 to 1906 the greatest recorded rainfall was 59.35 in., and the smallest 16.75 in. The water-supply for drinking and cooking purposes is almost wholly derived from rain-water stored chiefly in underground tanks; there are very few good wells. Many of the better class of houses have their own rain-water tanks, and there are large tanks belonging to the naval and military authorities. Large storage tanks have been constructed by the sanitary commissioners with specially prepared collecting areas high up the Rock. The collecting areas cover 16 acres, and the storage tanks have a capacity of over six million gallons. The tanks are excavated in the solid rock, whereby the water is kept in the dark and cool. A large quantity of brackish water for flushing purposes and baths is pumped from the sandy flats of the north front on the Spanish side of the Rock.
The Town.—The modern town of Gibraltar is of comparatively recent date, nearly all the older buildings having been destroyed during the great siege (1779–1783). The town lies, with most of its buildings crowded together, at the north-western corner of the Rock, and covers only about one-ninth part of the whole area; only a small part of it is on level ground, and those of its narrow streets and lanes which are at right angles to the line wall, or sea front, are for the most part, except at their western ends, little more than ramps or rough stairs formed of rubble stones, contracting in places into stone steps.
The public buildings present few, if any, features of general interest. The “Convent” rebuilt upon the remains of an old Franciscan monastery is the official residence of the governor. The Anglican cathedral is a poor imitation of Moorish architecture. The garrison library has excellent reading rooms and a large number of volumes of miscellaneous interest. The civil hospital is a well-planned and roomy modern building. The courthouse and exchange buildings are suited to the needs of the town. The antiquary may here and there find the remains of a Moorish bath forming part of a stable, or fragments of a sculptured stone gateway bearing the arms of Castile or of Aragon built into the wall of a modern barrack. In a small disused graveyard, near Southport gate, lie buried a number of those who fell at Trafalgar. To the south of the town are the Alameda parade and gardens, a lunatic asylum, the dockyard, graving docks and the naval and military hospitals.
Population.—The inhabitants of Gibraltar are of mixed race; after the capture of the town by the British nearly the whole of the former Spanish population emigrated in a body and founded, 6 m. away, the little town of San Roque. Most of the native inhabitants are of Italian or Genoese descent; there are also a number of Maltese, and between two and three thousand Jews. The Jews never intermarry with other races and form a distinct society of their own. The language of the people is Spanish, not very correctly spoken. English is learnt as a foreign language and is rarely, if ever, spoken by the people in their own homes. Gibraltar being primarily a fortress and naval base, every effort, in view of war contingencies, is made by the authorities to prevent the natural increase of the population. Sanitary and building regulations, modelled upon English statutes designed with quite different objects, are administered with some ingenuity and not a little severity. In this way the house room available for the poorer classes is steadily reduced. The poor are thus being gradually pushed across the frontier into the neighbouring Spanish town of La Linea de la Concepcion, itself a mere suburb of Gibraltar, whose population, however, is nearly double that of the parent city. A large army of workers come daily from “the Lines” into Gibraltar, returning at “first evening gunfire” shortly after sunset, at which time the gates are closed and locked for the night. Aliens are not allowed to reside in Gibraltar without a special permit, which must be renewed at short intervals. By an order in council, taking effect from November 1900, the like disabilities were extended to British subjects not previously resident.
The recorded births, marriages and deaths over a period of 23 years are as follows:—
| Yearly Average. | Births. | Marriages. | Deaths. |
| 1883–1885 | 621 | 177 | 513 |
| 1886–1890 | 603 | 167 | 514 |
| 1891–1895 | 626 | 186 | 460 |
| 1896–1900 | 641 | 201 | 498 |
| 1901–1905 | 629 | 201 | 472 |
