Location:
Middle East, west of Jordan
Geographic coordinates:
32 00 N, 35 15 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 5,860 sq km
land:
5,640 sq km
water:
220 sq km
note:
includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Delaware
Land boundaries:
total: 404 km
border countries:
Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
temperate; temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters
Terrain:
mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Dead Sea -408 m
highest point:
Tall Asur 1,022 m
Natural resources:
arable land
Land use:
arable land: 16.9%
permanent crops:
18.97%
other:
64.13% (2001)
Irrigated land:
150 sq km; note - includes Gaza Strip (2003)
Natural hazards:
droughts
Environment - current issues:
adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment
Geography - note:
landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are about 340 Israeli civilian sites - including 100 small outpost communities in the West Bank and 29 sites in East Jerusalem (July 2008 est.)
