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 one-third the size of Maryland |
Land boundaries | total: 484 km border countries (2): Israel 81 km, Syria 403 km |
Coastline | 225 km |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm |
Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; the Lebanon Mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Elevation extremes | highest point: Qornet es Saouda 3,088 m lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m mean elevation: 1,250 m |
Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Land use | agricultural land: 63.3% (2018 est.) arable land: 11.9% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 12.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 39.1% (2018 est.) forest: 13.4% (2018 est.) other: 23.3% (2018 est.) |
Irrigated land | 1,040 sq km (2012) |
Total renewable water resources | 4.503 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
Natural hazards | earthquakes; dust storms, sandstorms |
Geography - note | smallest country in continental Asia; 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 |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021