CHAPTER 1 Introduction Israel is a small country in the Middle East that occupies a narrow strip of territory at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea Known to many as the Holy Land Israel is situated in a land of central importance to three of the world’s major religions Judaism Christianity and Islam and in 1948 it was established as the world’s only Jewish state Since then from being a sparsely occupied country its population has increased over eight times to nearly 8 million The sheer number of new inhabitants has generated many changes in the country social economic and cultural PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Area total 8,020 sq mi 20,770 sq km land 7,850 sq mi 20,330 sq km water 170 sq mi 440 sq km Highest point Har Meron 3,963 ft 1,208 m Lowest point Dead Sea 1,338 ft 408 m Land boundaries total 393 sq mi 1,017 km border countries Egypt 165 miles 266 km Gaza Strip 32 miles 51 km Jordan 148 miles 238 km Lebanon 49 miles 79 km Syria 47 miles 76 km West Bank 190 miles 307 km Coastline 169 miles 273 km Source CIA World Factbook 2008 The Negev Desert takes up most of the southern half of Israel It is a rocky desert full of mountains sandy plains wadis dry riverbeds that flow briefly after rain and deep craters
INTRODUCTION This is a hillside in northern Galilee Some parts of this mountainous region reach heights of over 3,936 ft 1,200 m In between the highlands lie small fertile valleys dotted with orchards and vineyards Three continents Israel is situated at the meeting place of three continents Africa Asia and Europe It is part of Asia while neighboring Egypt belongs to Africa The long narrow country contains fertile valleys barren deserts large lakes rocky mountains and scenic coasts It measures some 279 mi 450 km north to south from the northern village of Metulla on the Lebanese border to the southern city of Elat on the Red Sea At its widest near the desert city of Beersheba Israel is only 112 mi 180 km from east to west A sandy Mediterranean coastline forms the entire western side and its land borders meet the four Arab countries of Lebanon Syria Jordan and Egypt In the south a huge triangle of land known as the Negev Desert narrows at the port of Elat on the Gulf of Aqaba It also contains two lakes that are so enormous they are called seas the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee Both are fed by the Jordan River The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake and the Dead Sea is the world’s saltiest lake Valley beneath the Sea At the bottom of the Dead Sea is the Great Rift Valley a massive crack in the earth’s crust that runs from Syria to southern Africa It runs almost in a straight line from north to south along the entire eastern edge of the country Israel’s major rivers are the Jordan Qishon Yarqon and Yarmuk The Jordan River forms part of the country’s eastern border dividing Israel from the country of Jordan Most of the other waterways are seasonal streams called wadis which flow for part of the year and dry up for the rest Since 1967 Israel has also governed some other areas of land These are the Golan Heights in the northeast the West Bank in the east and until 2005 the Gaza Strip in the southwest Jerusalem the capital city is 262 ft 800 m high in the Judean mountain range 7
