Israel Geography
What is the terrain and geography like in Israel?
Overview
Israel is a narrow country at the junction of Asia and Africa. It takes about seven hours to drive its 280-mile length. The greatest distance east to west is about 65 miles.The topography ranges from the rugged mountainous desert in the Dead Sea area to the flat coastal plain where Tel Aviv and Caesarea are located. The Negev Desert, Judean Hills, and the higher hills and mountains of the Galilee add to the variety of the country’s landscape. Over thousands of years, the rains have carved spectacular wadis or ravines in the permeable clay terrain of the remote desert areas where members of various religious sects have constructed their dwellings through the ages. There are also many natural caves, which were carved by the flow of rivers and subterranean waterways. Alongside rocky deserts, pleasant fields roll with wheat, olive trees, and grapevines.
The country has many natural parks, such as Ein Gedi near the Dead Sea, where one can find hills, forest, desert, and waterfalls in the same area. The highest point in Israel (excluding the areas occupied as a result of the 1967 Arab-Israeli War) is Mt. Meron, at almost 4,000 feet; the lowest point is also the lowest point on Earth—the Dead Sea, some 1,200 feet below sea level. The colors of the landscape vary dramatically, depending on the season and the play of sunlight.
Geography - note
Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is an important freshwater source; the Dead Sea is the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lake Assal in Djibouti); there are about 355 Israeli civilian sites including about 145 small outpost communities in the West Bank, 41 sites in the Golan Heights, and 32 in East JerusalemIsrael Use of Natural Resources
| Geographic Location | Middle East |
| Total Area |
8,019 Square Miles 20,770 Square Kilometers |
| Land Area |
7,849 Square Miles 20,330 Square Kilometers |
| Water Area |
170 Square Miles 440 Square Kilometers |
| Land Boundaries |
632 Miles 1,017 Kilometers |
| Irrigated Land |
869 Square Miles 2,250 Square Kilometers |
| Border Countries | Egypt 266 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km |
| Coastline |
170 Miles 273 Kilometers |
| Geographic Coordinates | 31 30 N, 34 45 E |
| Terrain | Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley |
| Highest Point | 1,208 Meters |
| Highest Point Location | Har Meron 1,208 m |
| Lowest Point | -408 Meters |
| Lowest Point Location | Dead Sea -408 m |
| Natural Resources | timber, potash, copper ore, natural gas, phosphate rock, magnesium bromide, clays, sand |
| Time Zone | UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Daylight saving time | +1hr, Friday before the last Sunday in March; ends the last Sunday in October |
