Check
the flash animated detailed maps of Lebanon and Beirut.
2009
Or
order the 2009 maps of Lebanon and Beirut
Land
and Resources:
Lebanon is a small country of only 10,452 sq km (4,036
sq mi); from north to south it extends 217 km (135 mi)
and from east to west it spans 80 km (50 mi) at its widest
point. The country is bounded by Syria on both the north
and east and by Israel on the south. Lebanon’s landforms
fall into four parallel belts that run from northeast
to southwest: a narrow coastal plain along the Mediterranean
shore; the massive Lebanon Mountains (often referred to
locally as Mount Lebanon) that rise steeply from the plain
to dominate the entire country before dropping eastward;
a fertile intermontane (between-mountain) basin called
the Bekáa Valley (Al Biqa’); and the ridges
of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, shared with Syria. Lebanon’s
highest peaks are Qurnat as Sawda’ (3,088 m/10,131
ft) in the country’s north, and volcanic Mount Hermon
(2,814 m/9,232 ft) at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanons.
The country’s name comes from the old Semitic word
laban, meaning “white,” which refers to the
heavy snow in the mountains.
MSN - Encarta
