Despite its small size, Israel is home to a variety of geographic features, from the Negev desert in the south to the mountain ranges of the Galilee, Carmel, and the Golan in the north. The Israeli Coastal Plain on the shores of the Mediterranean is home to seventy percent of the nation’s population. East of the central highlands lies the Jordan Rift Valley, which forms a small part of the 6,500-kilometer (4,040-mi) Great Rift Valley. The Jordan River runs along the Jordan Rift Valley, from Mount Hermon through the Hulah Valley and the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.] Further south is the Arabah, ending with the Gulf of Eilat, part of the Red Sea.
View from the Israeli coast of the Dead Sea
Unique to Israel and the Sinai Peninsula are makhteshim, or erosion cirques. The largest makhtesh in the world is Ramon Crater in the Negev,which measures 40 kilometers by 8 kilometers (25 mi by 5 mi).A report on the environmental status of the Mediterranean basin states that Israel has the largest number of plant species per square meter of all the countries in the basin.
Temperatures in Israel vary widely, especially during the winter. The more mountainous regions can be windy, cold, and sometimes snowy; Jerusalem usually receives at least one snowfall each year. Meanwhile, coastal cities, such as Tel Aviv and Haifa, have a typical Mediterranean climate with cool, rainy winters and long, hot summers. The highest temperature in the continent of Asia (53.7°C or 129°F) was recorded in 1942 at Tirat Zvi kibbutz in the northern parts of the Jordan-valley.From May to September, rain in Israel is rare.With scarce water resources, Israel has developed various water-saving technologies, including drip irrigationIsraelis also take advantage of the considerable sunlight available for solar energy, making Israel the leading nation in solar energy use per capita.
