@Syria:Geography
Location: Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between
Lebanon and Turkey
Map references: Middle East
Area:
total area: 185,180 sq km
land area: 184,050 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
Coastline: 193 km
Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 41 nm territorial sea: 35 nm
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