Jordan (country)

I

Introduction

Jordan (country) (in Arabic, al-Mamlakah al-Urdunniyah al-Hashemiyah), officially Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, kingdom in the Middle East, bordered on the north by Syria, on the east by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, on the south by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Aqaba, and on the west by Israel and the West Bank. The area of Jordan is 89,556 sq km (34,578 sq mi) since an exchange of territory with Saudi Arabia in 1965. Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan.

II

Land and Resources

The principal geographical feature of Jordan is an arid plateau that thrusts abruptly upward from the eastern shores of the River Jordan and the Dead Sea, reaching a height of about 610 to 915 m (2,000 to 3,000 ft), then sloping gently downward towards the Syrian Desert in the extreme east of the country. The Jordan Valley is in the deep depression of the Rift Valley, which is about 213 m (700 ft) below sea level in the area of Lake Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) and 395 m (1,296 ft) below sea level at the Dead Sea, the world’s lowest point. Deep gorges and mountainous outcroppings with elevations of approximately 1,500 m (4,920 ft) and above characterize the Arabian Plateau in the southern portion of the country.

A

Climate

The climate of Jordan is predominantly Mediterranean, marked by sharp seasonal variations in both temperature and precipitation. Temperatures below freezing are not unknown in January, the coldest month, but the average winter temperature is above 7.2° C (45° F). The areas below sea level are warm in winter and very hot in summer. In the Jordan Valley summer temperatures may reach 48.9° C (120° F) in August, the hottest month, compared with the average summer temperature in Amman of 25.6° C (78° F). Precipitation is confined largely to the winter season and ranges from about 660 mm (26 in) in the north-western corner to less than 127 mm (5 in) in the extreme east.

B

Natural Resources

Jordan is endowed with limited but important mineral resources. A small oilfield produces around 800 barrels per day (300,000 in 1996) for domestic consumption, equivalent to 1 per cent of the country’s domestic needs; Jordan has depended on Iraq for oil imports. High-grade phosphate deposits provide Jordan with its largest export. The salt resources of the Dead Sea are exploited to produce phosphates and potash.

Jordan’s attempts to overcome its shortage of water have been adversely affected by its political difficulties and a rapidly rising population. Attempts to increase water availability have included the diversion of the River Yarmūk to irrigate the northern part of the Ghor Valley. Israel’s use of the underground aquifers that it shares with Jordan has been a major barrier to a peace agreement between the two countries. In 1982 Israel’s national water carrier incorporated West Bank supplies into its network; the country eventually relied on it for one quarter of its water supplies, using 70 per cent of the available water.