Lebanon Geography Profile 2008

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: 16.35%
permanent crops: 13.75%
other: 69.9% (2005)

Irrigated land

1,040 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources

4.8 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 1.38 cu km/yr (33%/1%/67%)
per capita: 385 cu m/yr (2000)

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 is the 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