Geography
How many regions is Lebanon divided into?
Lebanon
Lebanon is located in Western Asia between latitudes 33° and 35° N and longitudes 35° and 37° E. The country's surface area is of which is land. Lebanon has a coastline and border of on the Mediterranean sea to the west, a border shared with Syria to the north and east and a long border with Israel to the south. The border with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is disputed by Lebanon in a small area called Shebaa Farms. Lebanon is divided into four distinct physiographic regions: the coastal plain, the Lebanon mountain range, the Beqaa valley and the Anti-Lebanon mountains. The narrow and discontinuous coastal plain stretches from the Syrian border in the north where it widens to form the Akkar plain to Ras al-Naqoura at the border with Israel in the south. The fertile coastal plain is formed of marine sediments and river deposited alluvium alternating with sandy bays and rocky beaches. The Lebanon mountains rise steeply parallel to the Mediterranean coast and form a ridge of limestone and sandstone that runs for most of the country's length. The mountain range varies in width between and ; it is carved by narrow and deep gorges. The Lebanon mountains peak at above sea level in Qurnat as Sawda' in North Lebanon and gradually slope to the south before rising again to a height of in Mount Sannine. The Beqaa valley sits between the Lebanon mountains in the west and the Anti-Lebanon range in the east; it's a part of the Great Rift Valley system. The valley is long and wide, its fertile soil is formed by alluvial deposits. The Anti-Lebanon range runs parallel to the Lebanon mountains, its highest peak is in Mount Hermon at . The mountains of Lebanon are drained by seasonal torrents and rivers foremost of which is the long Leontes that rises in the Beqaa Valley to the west of Baalbek and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre.