Lebanon's Geography | Lebanon Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria

Geographic coordinates: 33 50 N, 35 50 E

Map references: Middle East

Area: Total: 10,400 sq km land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km

Area - comparative: About 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries: Total: 454 km border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims: Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain: Narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m

Natural resources: Limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land

Land use: Arable land: 16.62% permanent crops: 13.98% other: 69.4% (2001)

Irrigated land: 1,200 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: Dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues: Deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills

Environment - international agreements: Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note: Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity

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