Overview

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan stretches over an area of over 90,000 km2 in the hot and dry region of West Asia. It is an almost land-locked country, bordered by Israel and the West Bank to the west, Syria to the north, Iraq to the east and Saudi Arabia to the southeast. The port of Aqaba in the far south gives Jordan a narrow outlet to the Red Sea. Its eastern part is largely desert; elevations therein range from 300 to 1,500 metres and annual precipitation is less than 50 millimeters. The central region of the country contains the Jordanian highlands (average altitude 900 metres), with rainfalls of up to 600 millimeters in the north. Jordan’s outstanding topographical feature is the great north-south rift, stretching from Lake Tiberias through the Jordan River Valley to the Dead Sea (the lowest point on earth, more than 400 meters below sea level). Jordan has three major rivers: Jordan River and its two principal tributaries, the Yarmouk and the Zarqa rivers. Because of its salinity and other quality problems, surface water is used mainly for irrigation. Drinking water is taken from underground aquifers and King Abdullah Canal.

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