Geographical position of Israel. The borders of Israel, territory, features of relief, nature

Israel is the country in which the influence of several cultures and religions is felt, and multilingual speech is heard on the streets. The Bible itself can tell us about the rich history that has evolved over several millennia. And all because the events are affected by the geographical position of Israel. The greatness of this country is felt when visiting historical monuments and holy places impregnated with the atmosphere of harmony and spirituality.

The article will examine the location and territory of Israel, its borders with other countries, geological and hydrographic data, as well as features of local flora and fauna.

Location on the world map

The State of Israel is in the realm of peace, which is called the Middle East. This parliamentary republic is located in the south-west of Asia, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. If you look at the map of the world, then the exact coordinates for Israel are 34 ° 45 'east longitude and 31 ° 30' north latitude.

Borders and area

Israel is neighboring with several countries. At its northern borders - with Lebanon, in the north-eastern part - with Syria, in the south-west - with the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and in the east - with Jordan and the western territory of the Jordan River.

The length of land borders is about one thousand and one hundred kilometers. Strange as it may seem, more precise data have not been determined by the Israeli state. The fact is that to this day the country can not settle official borders with Syria and Lebanon. Therefore, they are conditionally divided by the "cross of fire" and the "blue line".

The western borders of Israel are washed by the Mediterranean Sea, the southern part is the Red Sea, and the eastern region is bordered by the sacred river Jordan, in which Jesus was once baptized. The length of the coastline is 273 kilometers. Most belong to the Mediterranean, and a very small fraction covers the Red Sea (only twelve kilometers).

The total area of Israel, including the territory of the Palestinian Autonomy, is 27,800 square kilometers. And 6220 of them are occupied by Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, which were recaptured as a result of military operations in 1967. In the east, the territory of the Israeli state includes part of the Dead Sea (about one thousand square kilometers). It is a saline drainage lake with a maximum depth of 378 meters.

Territory of the state

The approximate area of Israel is twenty thousand square kilometers, of which more than four hundred are inland waters. The country's area stretches from the south to the north, from the city of Eilat to the village of Metula, at 424 kilometers. From west to east the distance of the narrowest point is 15 kilometers, and the widest reaches 114 kilometers.

To date, Israel has occupied 70 km² of East Jerusalem, 1150 km² of the Golan Heights and 5,879 km² of the western bank of the Jordan River. This arrangement leaves an imprint on the life of the state, so it has its own linguistic and currency features.

Language of Israel

Today the official languages in this state are Arabic and Hebrew. But also here they often speak Russian, English, German, Spanish and French.

Originally, the language of the Jewish people was Hebrew. It was believed that it was they who were owned by Adam and Eve. In this dialect was written most of the Old Testament and the Scrolls of the Dead Sea. All this time the language of Israel changed under the influence of neighboring countries. Therefore, its varieties appeared (for example, Western European, Yemen, German and Muslim).

However, in the second century Jews were persecuted by the Romans, and Hebrew lost its power as a spoken language. Until the end of the XIX century, only religious verses and texts were written on it, and then it became archaic at all. But after Hebrew was gradually revived on the initiative of the Zionist, who lived in the Russian Empire.

Money of Israel

Today, the official currency of the state is the new Israeli shekel. It equals one hundred agorotam. If to compare with other monetary units, in shekel - 0.29 US dollar or 16.96 Russian ruble.

Currency was used in antiquity throughout the world. But then the shekel denoted not the denomination of the coin, but the weight of gold or silver that was valued most. In 1985, this monetary unit depreciated a thousand times. The existing coins and banknotes changed the appearance and began to be denoted by letters from the Hebrew alphabet. So there were new shekels. Today, Israel's money has an international code and is freely convertible to other currencies.

Administrative division

The State of Israel is divided into administrative regions, which are called the "mehozot". There are only six of them: Central, Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv, North and South. In turn, administrative areas are divided into fifteen sub-districts, called nafot. They can count fifty independent sub-okrugs.

Beit Shemesh is a large and young city in the Jerusalem district. In Biblical times there was a path from the Jewish mountains to Jerusalem. Tel Aviv is a commercial, industrial and cultural and business center of the capital. The most picturesque place is Haifa, which is located on the slope of the sacred mountain range of Carmel.

By right the center of Israel can be considered Jerusalem. In this holy place, the main events of the life of Christ unfolded. It is also the largest city of the state with an area of 126 square kilometers. Almost eight hundred thousand people live in Jerusalem. The total population of Israel is about eight million.

Relief of Israel

This country is divided into two mountain chains and as a result, three completely different in terms of terrain are obtained.

1. The rift valley. It is also often called the Jordan River in honor of the river flowing here. It is a unique depression that belongs to the large geological fault of the Syrian-African zone. It includes the valley of the Jordan River, Hula, Jezreel, the depression of the Dead Sea and Wadi al-Arab, which is the link with the Red Sea.

2. Mountain zone. It extends from the Eilat Gulf to the Lebanese Mountains. The area can also be divided into three parts. In the south it is the highlands of the Negev desert, in the north - Galilee, and in the center - the Central Highlands, which includes Samaria, Judea and Shfela. If you pay attention to the peculiarities of the relief of Israel in this area, you can see that it rises hollow in the west, forming whole chains of hills about two hundred to four hundred meters in height. In the eastern part of the country the mountains are steeper and steeper, some even reach 1.3 kilometers.

3. The coastal plain. It begins with a narrow strip from the Lebanese border and stretches to Egypt through the Negev desert. In turn, this area can be divided into three zones. In the north it is the West Galilee coast and the valley of Zvyluna. In the south, part of the Maritime Zone is represented by the Mediterranean coast, which includes the Jewish Plain and the Negev. In the central region is the Carmel coast and the Saron valley (Sharon).

Behind a narrow sandy shore lies a strip of fertile land that is cultivated by local residents. That is why most of the population is concentrated in this territory of Israel. On the Primorsky Plain are the main port settlements of Tel Aviv, Ashdod, Haifa and the main complex of the country's agrarian and industrial potential.

Geological structure

The country's territory is predominantly formed by the Mesozoic rocks belonging to the tertiary and quaternary system. The most widely distributed are the Upper Cretaceous deposits, which are represented by dolomites, limestones and marls. Zoolites and sandstones are found on the plateau of the Hileley and the coastal part. In the north there are colossal deposits of chalk, from which grottoes of Rosh-ha-Nikra are formed. But the geography of Israel in the Jordan Valley is distinguished by the accumulation of powerful alluvial formations.

Limestone layers are easily eroded by a large number of local waters. Because of this, karst processes developed in these areas. Caves formed from water-soluble rocks in Israel are many. However, only one is open to visit - Avshalom. There are also a lot of small caves formed by natural way, which historically were used as warehouses, places of shelters and assemblies of the population.

Soil of Israel

The unique geographical position of Israel greatly influenced the diversity of the earth's rocks. The western part of the country, consisting of the coast and mountain slopes, is rich in brown soils that are characteristic of dry subtropical areas. The territory of the eastern and central regions is concentrated mountain gray-brown earth. In the south of the country there are varieties of soils of subtropical deserts.

In some areas of the northern Negev formed a light yellow fertile loess. In the coastal zone, the humus content ranges from 0.75% to 2.4% at depth and on the surface, respectively. The ground of the southern Negev consists of granite and sandstone, and the earth cover of Galilee is made of limestone. Soil cover is generally absent only on some desert and mountain plots.

Hydrography

If you pay attention to where Israel is, you can see that it has a disputed hydrographic situation. Reserves of fresh water are estimated at 1,800 million cubic meters per year. Of these, 1100 are given by small springs and rivers, 320 by the Israeli region of the Jordan, and 200 by the drains of the Yarkon River.

Also, fresh water is extracted by treating wastewater and processing sea water. The main reservoir for the country is the Tiberias Lake. From it through Rosh-ha-Ain to Yarkon-Negev there is a water pipeline with a total length of about 250 kilometers.

In the west of the country, the rivers belong to the Mediterranean basin. They are not so many, and in the hot season most of them just dry up. The eastern borders of Israel are inferior. The most constant river of the country is the Jordan. Thanks to hydraulic equipment, it has practically unchanged flow. An exception is only short floods. Of great interest are the Sea of Galilee. It is at least slightly saline, but still suitable for use, and rich in fish.

Climatic conditions

Israel is quite a small country, but it can find nine different climatic zones, which depend on the location of the region. Mountainous areas are quite hot in summer and cold winters. The coastal areas are characterized by mild winters and humid summers. And in the Jordan Valley, a mild and pleasant winter, but a very hot and dry summer. This diversity is explained by the complex relief and desert in the eastern zone and the proximity of the sea from the west.

The geographical position of Israel affects the weather. In general, the climate is subtropical throughout the country. Winter is quite cool and rainy. Air in January usually warms up to 9-22 degrees of heat. The abundance of rain falls on December-February, snow falls rarely, and even in mountainous areas.

Summer in Israel lasts from April to November. Basically it is dry and warm. The air warms up to 30-38 degrees. But because of the very different humidity of air in different regions, this temperature is perceived in different ways. A distinctive feature of the summer Israeli pores are the sultry withering winds. Water in the Dead Sea, as a rule, warms up to 30 degrees in August and up to 25 - in February.

Flora

The nature of Israel is very diverse. Representatives of the Sahara-Arabian, Iranian-Turanian and Mediterranean regions meet here. Plants of the country are represented by 2600 species, of which 150 can be found exclusively in Israel and nowhere else in the world.

Widely distributed oak, pomegranate, fig, olive, cypress, laurel, sycamore, myrtle and carob. Local people like to plant eucalyptus, acacia and alpine pine in the forest zone. For landscaping urban areas use casuarin, pistachio, ficus, oleander and tamarisk. By the location of these plants, you can determine where Israel is located and its borders end.

Fauna

The animal kingdom of Israel is represented by 100 species of mammals, 500 species of birds and 100 species of reptiles. Previously, the fauna was richer. From these places the lion, the Syrian bear, the Nile crocodile, the octopus, the Berber ram, the onager, the doe and the eagle owl disappeared. But still there is a single-horned camel, maned sheep, Nubian goat, gazelle, antelope, wild boar and oryx.

Also, the animal nature of Israel is represented by marsh and terrestrial turtles. Exclusively in the river Alexander you can find Nile mild-skinned species. Also here are the Palestinian viper, efa, slave, watery, black skid and spotted pseudo-viper. In total, 30 species of snakes can be counted, of which 8 are poisonous.

The relative dryness of the climate limits the number of species of amphibians. They are represented here by a fiery salamander, a small Asian newt, a chameleon, an ordinary frog, a Syrian garb and a green toad.

In short, Israel's geographical position offers many opportunities for this country. Especially the traveler likes to travel here because of the resorts of the Mediterranean, Dead and Red Seas.