| Location: |
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
|
| Geographic coordinates: |
33 50 N, 35 50 E
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| Map references: |
Middle East
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| 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
|
| 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; Al Biqa' (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:
18%
permanent crops:
9%
permanent pastures:
1%
forests and woodland:
8%
other:
64% (1996 est.)
|
| Irrigated land: |
860 sq km (1993 est.)
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| Natural hazards: |
dust storms, sandstorms
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| 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
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| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
|
| Geography - note: |
Nahr al 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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