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| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | | | Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | | | Zone | Middle East | | | Area | total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km
water: 170 sq km | | | 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 | | | Irrigated land | 225 km | | | 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 | |
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