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Location:
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Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
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Geographic coordinates:
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33 50 N, 35 50 E
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Map references:
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Middle East
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Area:
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total: 10,400 sq km
water: 170 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut
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Land boundaries:
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total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
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Coastline:
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225 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 NM
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Climate:
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Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
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Terrain:
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narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m
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Natural resources:
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limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land
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Land use:
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arable land: 17.6%
permanent crops: 12.51%
other: 69.89% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land:
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1,200 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards:
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dust storms, sandstorms
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Environment - current issues:
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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:
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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
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Geography - note:
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Nahr el 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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