The Anti-Lebanon Mountains ( ar, جبال لبنان الشرقية, Jibāl Lubnān ash-Sharqiyyah, Eastern Mountains of Lebanon; Lebanese Arabic: , , "Eastern Mountains") are a southwest–northeast-trending

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

that forms most of the border between Syria and Lebanon. The border is largely defined along the crest of the range. Most of the range lies in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

Etymology

Its Western name ''Anti-Lebanon'' comes from the Greek and

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, derived from its position opposite (') and parallel to the

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

range ().

Geology

The Anti-Lebanon range is approximately in length. To the south, the range adjoins the lower-lying

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

plateau, but includes the highest peaks, namely Mount Hermon (''Jabal el-Shaykh'', in Arabic), at 2,814 metres, and Ta'la't Musa, at 2,669 metres. These peaks, on the Lebanese-Syrian border, are snow-covered for much of the year. Anti-Lebanon mountains are an

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is t ...

. Their predominant rocks are

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...

from the

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of ...

period.

Geography

To the north, they extend to almost the latitude of the Syrian city of

Homs ar, حمصي, Himsi , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_t ...

. The mountains end in the south with Mount Hermon, which borders on the

; the Golan Heights are a different geological and

geomorphological Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek: , ', "earth"; , ', "form"; and , ', "study") is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or ...

entity, but

geopolitically Geopolitics (from Greek γῆ ''gê'' "earth, land" and πολιτική ''politikḗ'' "politics") is the study of the effects of Earth's geography (human and physical) on politics and international relations. While geopolitics usually refers to ...

they are often regarded together with the southern slopes of Mount Hermon, both being part of the Israeli-occupied Golan region. To the west of the Anti-Lebanon lie valleys that separate it from Mount Lebanon in central

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus lie ...

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...

in the north and the Hasbani River valley in the south. To the east, in Syria, lies the Eastern Plateau, location of the city of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

. The mountains provide a

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is ca ...

to the region on their east, such as

and even the

Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of so ...

, which fall on the leeward side of the mountains. An important smuggling route between Lebanon and Syria passes through the Anti-Lebanon Mountains.

Ecology

The area is known for its apricot and cherry trees as well as its stone quarries. In the mountains,

amygdalus ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'' is a subgenus of ''Prunus''. This subgenus includes plums, apricots and bush cherries. Most species inside this subgenus bear fruit that is sugary, storing large amounts of energy, which is why most ''Prunus'' species ...

and pistachio bushes thrive. On the west side small-scale

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forests and isolated dry coniferous forests with Cilician firs ( Abies cilicica), Lebanon cedars ( Cedrus libani) and Greek juniper ( Juniperus excelsa). Subalpine and alpine plant communities occur over 2500 metres. The grazing by sheep and goats, has led to an increased erosion of the remaining forests and to a substantial deterioration of soil and vegetation. The predominant form of economy is extensive nomadic grazing. There are various endemic flora found and named after the region (having a

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bo ...

that means "of the Anti-Lebanon"). These include ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

antilibanotica'', '' Teucrium antilibanoticum'', ''

Valerianella ''Valerianella'' is a genus of plant in family Caprifoliaceae. Many plants of this genus are known by the common name corn salad or cornsalad, although that name most often refers to ''Valerianella locusta''. Accepted species:Iris antilibanotica''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-Lebanon Mountains Mountain ranges of Lebanon Mountain ranges of Syria Lebanon–Syria border

Etymology

Geology

Geography

Ecology

See also

References