GEOGRAPHY
Cities:
Capital--Damascus (pop. 4 million). Other cities--Aleppo (1.5
million), Homs (400,000).
Terrain: Narrow coastal plain with a double mountain belt
in the west; large, semiarid and desert plateau to the east.
Climate: Mostly desert; hot, dry sunny summers (June to August)
and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast.
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon
and Turkey
Map
references: Middle East
total
area: 185,180 sq km
comparative
area: slightly larger than North Dakota
note:
includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory
Land
boundaries: total 2,253 km, Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan
375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km
International
disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line;
Golan Heights is Israeli occupied; Hatay question with Turkey;
ongoing dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; Syrian troops in northern Lebanon
since October 1976
Climate:
mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild,
rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather
with snow or sleet periodically hits Damascus
Terrain:
primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains
in west
Natural
resources: petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores,
asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum
meadows
and pastures: 46%
Irrigated
land: 10,000 sq km (1992)
current
issues: deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification;
water pollution from dumping of raw sewage and wastes from petroleum
refining; inadequate supplies of potable water
natural
hazards: dust storms, sandstorms
international
agreements: party to - Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified
- Biodiversity, Desertification, Environmental Modification
Note:
there are 42 Jewish settlements and civilian land use sites in
the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (August 1994 est.)
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