Israel--Geography
CIA FactbookThe World Factbook 1993: Israel Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Lebanon

Area: total area: 20,770 km2 land area: 20,330 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than New Jersey

Land boundaries: total 1,006 km, Egypt 255 km, Gaza Strip 51 km, Jordan 238 km, Lebanon 79 km, Syria 76 km, West Bank 307 km

Coastline: 273 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: to depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: separated from Lebanon, Syria, and the West Bank by the 1949 Armistice Line; differences with Jordan over the location of the 1949 Armistice Line that separates the two countries; West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli occupied with status to be determined; Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Israeli troops in southern Lebanon since June 1982; water-sharing issues with Jordan

Climate: temperate; hot and dry in southern and eastern desert areas

Terrain: Negev desert in the south; low coastal plain; central mountains; Jordan Rift Valley

Natural resources: copper, phosphates, bromide, potash, clay, sand, sulfur, asphalt, manganese, small amounts of natural gas and crude oil

Land use: arable land: 17% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 40% forest and woodland: 6% other: 32%

Irrigated land: 2,140 km2 (1989)

Environment: sandstorms may occur during spring and summer; limited arable land and natural water resources pose serious constraints; deforestation

Note: there are 175 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, 38 in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, 18 in the Gaza Strip, and 14 Israeli-built Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem