[1] It is enclosed by the southern Iberian and northern Moroccan margins, west of Strait of Gibraltar.

[1] The geological history of the Gulf of Cádiz is intimately related to plate tectonic interaction between Southern Eurasia and North Africa and is driven by two major mechanisms:[2] It is now well established that the whole area is under compressive deformation and that mud volcanism and processes associated with the escape of hydrocarbon-rich fluids sustain a broad diversity of chemosynthetic assemblages.

[1] The accretionary wedge formed by subduction represents an extensive area which encompasses over forty mud volcanoes (a type of cold seep), at depths ranging from 200 to 4,000 m (660 to 13,120 ft) (confirmed by coring), and active methane seepage has been documented on several locations.

[1][8] The occurrence of chemosymbiotic biota in the extensive mud volcano fields of the Gulf of Cádiz was first reported in 2003.

[1] There were reported the following species of chemosymbiotic bivalves of Solemyidae: Acharax gadirae, Solemya elarraichensis; Mytilidae: Bathymodiolus mauritanicus, Idas sp.