GEOGRAPHY
Cities:
Capital--Beirut (pop. 1 million). Other cities--Tripoli (240,000),
Sidon (110,000), Tyre (60,000), Zahleh (55,000).
Terrain: Narrow coastal plain backed by the Lebanon Mountains,
the fertile Biqa' Valley, and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, which
extend to the Syrian border. Land--61% urban, desert, or waste;
21% agricultural; 8% forested.
Climate: Typically Mediterranean, resembling that of southern
California.
Location: Middle East, bordering the
Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Map references: Middle East
Area: total
area: 10,400 sq km land
area: 10,230 sq km comparative
area: about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries: total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims: territorial
sea: 12 nm
International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949
Armistice Line; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June
1982; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon
since October 1976
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
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus
state in a water-deficit region
Land use: arable
land: 21%
permanent crops: 9%
meadows
and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 8%
other: 61%
Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1989 est.)
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 natural
hazards: duststorms, sandstorms
I nternational agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Desertification,
Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation
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.
