According to the mythology, it was Hercules, son of Zeus and Alcmene, who separated the two mountains, Calpe (Rock of Gibraltar) and Abila (Jebel Musa), formerly united as a single mountain range. Since then, these mountains are known as the pillars of Hercules, which pointed to the far end of the Mediterranean of the Greeks, the Non Plus Ultra, what the Romans wanted to mean that men should stop their expeditions there.
The pillars of Hercules were considered the limit of the known world, beyond them, No one knew the horrors that could eventually find.So much so, the sailors who dared to look out to the Atlantic Ocean were returning with stories of sea monsters, perhaps fearful of the strong currents of the Strait of Gibraltar, with sudden and perplexing changes, that posed a danger to navigation.
These appear instantly without pre-broadcast signals. Suddenly, a roughness on the surface of the sea appears as when the water is boiling and a chaotic Sea sets. As if winds misleading contrary forces, the currents are dangerous not only for small boats, but for big ones also…”
Still today , for most of us , between Algeciras and Tarifa , the internal wave in the Strait of Gibraltar is a great unknown !
You can see it quite well with Poniente and even better after a strong Levante.
none is alike ! Imagine the force generated beneath the waters !!!! and if we could take advantage if an infima part !
Oceanographers from around the world come to study and observe this internal wave.
