As it stretches from north to south, the width of its terrain becomes narrower. Lebanon's mountainous terrain, economic, and religious movements that either originated in the region or crossed through to leave an imprint upon Lebanese society give form to that history.
The country's role in the region, as indeed in the world at large, was shaped by trade. Lebanon is named "the pearl of the middle east." It serves as a link between the Mediterranean world and India and East Asia. The merchants of the region exported oil, grain, textiles, metal work, and pottery through the port cities to Western markets.
The hilly Mediterranean geography has influenced the History of Lebanon, cuisine of Lebanon and culture of Lebanon.
Landscape
The western range, the second major region, is the Lebanon Mountains, sometimes called Mount Lebanon, or Lebanon proper before 1920. Since Roman days the term Mount Lebanon has encompassed this area. Antilibanos (Anti-Lebanon) was used to designate the eastern range. Geologists believe that the twin mountains once formed one range. The Lebanon Mountains are the highest, most rugged, and most imposing of the whole maritime range of mountains and plateaus that start with the Amanus or Nur Mountains in northern Syria and end with the towering massif of Sinai. The mountain structure forms the first barrier to communication between the Mediterranean and Lebanon's eastern hinterland. The mountain range is a clearly defined unit having natural boundaries on all four sides. On the north it is separated from the Nusayriyah Mountains of Syria by An Nahr al Kabir ("the great river"); on the south it is bounded by Al Qasimiyah River, giving it a length of 169 kilometers. Its width varies from about 56.5 kilometres (35.1 mi) near Tripoli to 9.5 kilometres (5.9 mi) on the southern end. It rises to alpine heights southeast of Tripoli, where Al Qurnat as Sawda ("the black nook") reaches 3,088 metres (10,131 ft). Of the other peaks that rise east of Beirut, Jabal Sannin (2,695 metres (8,842 ft)) is the highest. Ahl al Jabal ("people of the mountain"), or simply jabaliyyun, has referred traditionally to the inhabitants of western Lebanon. Near its southern end, the Lebanon Mountains branch off to the west to form the Shuf Mountains.
The third geographical region is the Biqa Valley. This central highland between the Lebanon Mountains and the Anti-Lebanon Mountainsis about 177 kilometres (110 mi) in length and 9.6 to 16 kilometers wide and has an average elevation of 762 metres (2,500 ft). Its middle section spreads out more than its two extremities. Geologically, the Biqa is the medial part of a depression that extends north to the western bend of the Orontes River in Syria and south to Jordan through Al Arabah to Al Aqabah, the eastern arm of the Red Sea. The Biqa is the country's chief agricultural area and served as a granary of Roman Syria. Biqa is the Arabic plural of buqaah, meaning a place with stagnant water.
Emerging from a base south of Homs in Syria, the eastern mountain range, or Anti-Lebanon (Lubnan ash Sharqi), is almost equal in length and height to the Lebanon Mountains. This fourth geographical region falls swiftly from Mount Hermon to the Hawran Plateau, whence it continues through Jordan south to the Dead Sea. The Barada Gorge divides Anti-Lebanon. In the northern section, few villages are on the western slopes, but in the southern section, featuring Mount Hermon (2860 meters), the western slopes have many villages. Anti-Lebanon is more arid, especially in its northern parts, than Mount Lebanon and is consequently less productive and more thinly populated.
total: 10,452 km2 (4,036 sq mi)
land: 10,282 km2 (3,970 sq mi)
water: 170 km2 (66 sq mi)
Land boundaries:
total: 454 km (282 mi)
border countries: Palestain 79 km (49.1 mi), Syria 375 km (233 mi)
Coastline: 225 km (140 mi)
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi)
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m (0 ft) (sea level)
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda '3,088 m (10,131 ft)
Resources and land use
Limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land
Land use: arable land: 10.72%
permanent crops: 12.06%
other: 77.22% (2011)
Irrigated land: 1,040 km2 (401.55 sq mi) (2011)
Total renewable water resources: 4.5 km3 (1.1 cu mi) (2011)
Water in Lebanon
Water is becoming a scarce resource in Lebanon due to climate change, which leads to different rainfall patterns as well as to inefficient methods of distribution within the country. Most of Lebanon’s rainfall is in the four months of winter, but over the last 45 years, the Ministry of Environment (Lebanon) estimates that rainfall has decreased overall between 5 and 20 percent. The coastal strip of Lebanon gets approximately 2,000 mm of rain per year, while the Beqaa Valley to the east gets only one-tenth as much.In 2004, only about 21% of households across Lebanon had constant access to water in the summer months, with most of those households concentrated in or near Beirut.It is predicted that in future years, there will be higher temperatures, lower rainfall, and longer droughts, leading to even less access to water.According to the Ministry of Environment, several factors that are putting stress on Lebanon’s water resources are unsustainable water management practices, increasing water demand from all sectors, water pollution, and ineffective water governance. Lebanon has struggled with inadequate water and sanitation services for many years. The factors with the greatest effect on quality and quantity of water resources in Lebanon are population growth, urbanization (88% of the population now lives in urban areas), economic growth, and climate change.In recent years, population growth has been increased rapidly with the addition of many Syrian refugees.Some new projects have been proposed to restructure the water sector. Currently, over 48 percent of water supplied by the public system is lost through seepage and wastewater networks are extremely poor, or even non-existent in some areas. One project that is currently being implemented by the Ministry of Environment in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) focusses on harvesting rainwater from agricultural greenhouse tops in order to increase water harvesting and reduce the pressure on pumping groundwater.This project is expected to increase water availability during the especially critical months of late summer and early autumn when there is less precipitation, which would help to reduce the risk of salinity in both soil and water, and to increase the resilience of crops faced with prolonged drought. There are also proposed projects that suggest the agricultural sector use recycled waste water to allow for more fresh and potable water for consumption.This would be a huge improvement, as solid-wast treatment facilities are in short supply, and over 92 percent of Lebanon’s sewage runs untreated directly into water-courses and the sea. If Lebanon does not reform its water sector, it is likely that there will be chronic and critical water shortages by 2020, which would create needs the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW) would be unable to meet.Water is becoming a scarce resource and if Lebanon instates reformed practices, the progression forward into future water scarcity can be slowed.
Issues of Air Quality in Lebanon
As a result of increasingly hot summers and its location within the Mediterranean region, which is often cited for having long episodes of pollution, Lebanon, Beirut in particular, is at high risk for air pollution. Approximately 93 percent of Beirut's population is exposed to high levels of air pollution, which can most often be attributed to vehicle-induced emissions, whether it be long-range travel or short commuting traffic. The cost of air pollution to health may exceed ten million dollars a year. The levels of air pollution in Beirut are increasing annually, and were already above acceptable WHO (World Health Organization) standards by 2011. The most noted pollution in Beirut is particulate matter (street dust), chemicals in the air, and vehicle exhaust. Air pollution is exacerbated by city structure and inadequate urban management as indicated by high buildings on narrow streets, which contain air pollutants.Some recommendations for improvement of air quality include encouragement of carpooling and citywide biking, alternative fuels for vehicles, and a widened public transit sector.