Sandy Bay is a village, bay and beach located on a small bay on the eastern

Mediterranean coast The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eu ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

, on the opposite side of The Rock from the main city. It is situated to the south of

Catalan Bay Catalan Bay () is a bay and fishing village in Gibraltar, on the eastern side of The Rock away from Westside. Etymology Although the origin of Catalan Bay's name is documented, a couple of theories co-exist. Documentary evidence suggests th ...

and is accessible via Sir Herbert Miles Road.

Water catchments

Directly above Sandy Bay and the Sir Herbert Miles coast road were Gibraltar's large water catchments, which are no longer in use. The slope on which they sat is the Great Gibraltar Sand Dune, an ancient consolidated

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

which dominates the east side of the

Rock of Gibraltar The Rock of Gibraltar (from the Arabic name Jabal Ṭāriq , meaning "Mountain of Tariq ibn Ziyad, Tariq") is a monolithic limestone mountain high dominating the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It is situated near the end of a nar ...

. The dune's naturally smooth surface allowed for the construction of a water catchment area made up of a corrugated steel sheets and a layer of

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

water flowed down the slope into an open channel which fed into the

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

system inside The Rock.Discovergibraltar.com ''Sandy Bay''
In 1898, work began on four 5 million gallon water reservoirs which were cut into the western side of The Rock. They were officially opened by

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

George Stuart White in 1901. These reservoirs were fed by relatively small water catchment areas on the western side of The Rock. The water catchments above Sandy Bay were built in stages between 1903 and 1961, and were designed to cater for Gibraltar's ever increasing demand. The original plan was to cover an area of . Between 1911 and 1914 a fifth reservoir was excavated inside the Rock and the catchment area increased to . By 1961 the total catchment area had increased to its maximum of .

Today

In 2001, the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society began to manage the phased work of dismantling this catchment construction. By 2006 the slope was entirely restored to its natural state and is now completely covered in vegetation native to this unique habitat of Gibraltar.GONHS - Image of successfully revegetated slope
It is possible to continue south along Sir Herbert Miles road and through Dudley Ward Tunnel all the way to Europa Point at the southern tip of Gibraltar. Following a

rockfall A rockfall or rock-fallWhittow, John (1984). ''Dictionary of Physical Geography''. London: Penguin, 1984. . is a quantity of Rock (geology), rock that has fallen freely from a cliff face. The term is also used for collapse of rock from roof or wa ...

on 18 February 2002, which killed a man, the Government concluded that the risk of further such incidents was too great, and the tunnel was closed indefinitely. However, in 2007 its reopening was suggested by the Government to ease traffic flow in the area of the new Rosia residential developments. The tunnel re-opened in November 2010, on completion of extensive engineering works. Sandy Bay is home to one of the few residential areas on the east side of The Rock, known as Both Worlds.

Regeneration works

On 25 June 2014, officials of Gibraltar inaugurated the new Sandy Bay after a considerable public investment to recover the almost non-existent beach. The works enlarged the beach with approximately 50,000 tons of sand imported from

Laayoune Laayoune or El Aaiún (, Latn, ar, al-ʕuyūn , , ) is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 271,344 in 2023. The city is the ''de jure'' capital of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, though it ...

in the

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

. Two curved groynes and a frontal breakwater were constructed to protect the beach from the full erosional impact of wave action and trap shifting sand, including a submerged breakwater connecting the ends of both

groyne A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid aquatic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete ...

References

{{Gibraltar topics Bays of Gibraltar Beaches of Gibraltar Areas of Gibraltar

Water catchments

Today

Regeneration works

See also

References