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Geography
[edit]
Lebanon is located in Western Asia between latitudes 33° and 35° N, and longitudes 35° and 37° E.
The country's surface area is 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi) of which 10,230 square kilometres (3,950 sq mi) is land. Lebanon has a coastline and border of 225 kilometres (140 mi) on the Mediterranean sea to the west, a 375 kilometres (233 mi) border shared with Syria to the north and east and a 79 kilometres (49 mi) long border with Israel to the south.[1] The border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is disputed by Lebanon in a small area called Shebaa Farms.[2]
Lebanon is divided into four distinct physiographic regions: the coastal plain, the Lebanon mountain range, the Beqaa valley and the Anti-Lebanon mountains.
The narrow and discontinuous coastal plain stretches from the Syrian border in the north where it widens to form the Akkar plain to Ras al-Naqoura at the border with Israel in the south. The fertile coastal plain is formed of marine sediments and river deposited alluvium alternating with sandy bays and rocky beaches. The Lebanon mountains rise steeply parallel to the Mediterranean coast and form a ridge of limestone and sandstone that runs for most of the country's length. The mountain range varies in width between 10km and 56km; it is carved by narrow and deep gorges. The Lebanon mountains peak at 3,088 metres (10,131 ft) above sea level in Qurnat as Sawda' in North Lebanon and gradually slope to the south before rising again to a height of 2,695 metres (8,842 ft) in Mount Sannine. The Beqaa valley sits between the Lebanon mountains in the west and the Anti-Lebanon range in the east; it's a part of the Great Rift Valley system. The valley is 180km long and 10 to 26km wide, its fertile soil is formed by alluvial deposits. The Anti-Lebanon range runs parallel to the Lebanon mountains, its highest peak is in Mount Hermon at 2,814 metres (9,232 ft).[1]
The mountains of Lebanon are drained by seasonal torrents and rivers foremost of which is the 145 kilometres (90 mi) long Leontes that rises in the Beqaa Valley to the west of Baalbek and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre.[1]
Climate
[edit]Lebanon has a moderate Mediterranean climate. In coastal areas, winters are generally cool and rainy whilst summers are hot and humid. In more elevated areas, temperatures usually drop below freezing during the winter with heavy snow cover that remains until early summer on the higher mountaintops.[3][1] Although most of Lebanon receives a relatively large amount of rainfall annually (compared to its arid surroundings), certain areas in north-eastern Lebanon receive little because of rain shadow created by the high peaks of the western mountain range.[4]
Environment
[edit]In ancient times, Lebanon was covered by large forests of Cedar, the national emblem of the country.[5] As a result of longstanding exploitation, few old Cedar trees remain in pockets of forests in Lebanon, but there is an active program to conserve and regenerate the forests. The Lebanese approach has emphasized natural regeneration over planting, and this by creating the right conditions for germination and growth. The Lebanese state has created several nature reserves that contain cedars, including the Shouf Biosphere Reserve, the Jaj Cedar Reserve, the Tannourine Reserve, the Ammouaa and Karm Shbat Reserves in the Akkar district, and the Forest of the Cedars of God near Bsharri.[6][7][8] In 2010, the Environment Ministry set a 10-year plan to increase the national forest coverage by 20% that is equivalent to the planting of two million new trees each year.[9] The plan, which was funded the U.S. development agency, USAID, and overseen by the U.S. Forest Service, and the Lebanon Reforestation Initiative, was inaugurated in 2011 by planting of seedlings, such as cedar, pine, wild almond, juniper, fir and oak, in five regions around Lebanon.[9] The forests cover 13.4% of the Lebanese land area;[10] they are under constant threat from wildfires caused by the long dry summer season.[11]
Late Cretaceous fish fossils beds of Lebanon are world famous, and are in the top twenty or thirty such location around the world.[12] Lebanon is mainly composed of Jurassic age rock overlaid in places with a Cretaceous layer, the oldest of which is sandstone, usually occurring at altitudes of over 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) above sea level.[13] Evidence of early habitation in Lebanon has been shown in flint industries dating to the Lower Paleolithic.[14]
- ^ a b c d Etheredge, Laura S; Britannica Educational Publishing (2011). Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan - Middle East: region in transition. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 85–159. ISBN 9781615304141.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Telegraph (2000) "Israel's Withdrawal from Lebanon Given UN's Endorsement". Retrieved 1 November 2006.
- ^ (Bonechi et al.) (2004) Golden Book Lebanon, p. 3, Florence, Italy: Casa Editrice Bonechi. ISBN 88-476-1489-9
- ^ Country Studies US. "Lebanon – Climate". Retrieved 5 November 2006.
- ^ Blue Planet Biomes. "Lebanon Cedar – Cedrus libani". Retrieved 10 December 2006.
- ^ Talhouk, S. N. & Zurayk, S. 2003. Conifer conservation in Lebanon. Acta Hort. 615: 411-414.
- ^ Semaan, M. & Haber, R. 2003. In situ conservation on Cedrus libani in Lebanon. Acta Hort. 615: 415-417.
- ^ Cedars of Lebanon Nature Reserve
- ^ a b Olivia Alabaster Lebanon begins landmark reforestation campaign. The Daily Star. November 26, 2011
- ^ The world bank (2012). "Lebanon". Data indicators by contry. The World Bank. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Text "Data" ignored (help) - ^ Alami, Mona (July 30, 2009). "Global Warming Makes Mischief Worse". Inter Press Service. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
- ^ American University of Beirut "The geology of Lebanon a summary". Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ^ Godefroy Zumoffen (1926). Géologie du Liban. H. Barrère. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Lorraine Copeland; P. Wescombe (1965). Inventory of Stone-Age sites in Lebanon, p. 40. Imprimerie Catholique. Retrieved 21 July 2011.