CHAFARINAS ISLANDS

also spelled Zafarin, or Djaferin, three small rocky islets of the Spanish plaza (enclave) of Melilla, located off northeastern Morocco, 7 mi (11 km) northwest of the mouth of the Oued Moulouya. Probably the tres insulae (three islands) of the 3rd-century Roman roadbook Itinerarium Antonini, they have been occupied by Spain since 1847. Waterless and uncultivated, they form the best anchorage along the Moroccan Mediterranean coast. Isabella II contains the lighthouse and garrison. Congreso and Rey are uninhabited. Pop. (1970) 195.