2 - Present-Day Configuration

Abstract

This chapter highlights the morphologic units of Israel. Israel contains the continental shelf, the coastal plain, the mountainous backbone, and the Jordan–Arava rift valley. The continental shelf is wider to the south, opposite Gaza. The Israeli Mediterranean shoreline bends at the south of the country from its east–west direction in a gentle arch curving more and more to the north. The present drainage system of Israel depends on the morphotectonic pattern of the country. The western part of the mountainous backbone of the country is drained to the Mediterranean through several small perennial streams. The eastern sector is drained to the Jordan valley by dry, intermittent wadis to the south and by perennial streams to the north. Israel occupies a transition zone between the rainy, almost subtropical Mediterranean climate to the north and the dry, subtropical desert to the south. The region is characterized by a short, rainy winter and a long, dry summer. During the winter, the country is subject to the influence of cyclones that develop in the Eastern Mediterranean.