It is located in the northwest of the African continent, next to the Alboran Sea and off the coast of Granada and Almería. The city layout is arranged in a wide semicircle around the beach and the Port of Melilla, on the eastern side of the peninsula of Cape Tres Forcas, at the foot ofMount Gurugú and the mouth of the Río de Oro, 1 metre above sea level. The urban nucleus was originally a fortress built on a peninsular mound about 30 m in height. The nearest Moroccan city is Nador and the port of Melilla and Nador are both within the Bou Areg
