Palestine]
Physically the rest of the territory of Syria lies in three parallel belts running roughly north and south: (1) the Maritime Range, with its broken coastal plain: (2) the Central Depression; (3) the Eastern Plateau, to the verge of the desert. On the north these three salient features are limited by the chain of the AntiTaurus, and on the south they merge into the desert.
The Maritime Range, in north Syria, is divided into three sections, which are, from north to south: (1) the Amanus or Giaur Dagh, between the Jihan and the Orontes (Nahr el-Asi); (2) Jebel Ansarie, between the Orontes and the Nahr el-Kebir (near Tripoli); (3) the Lebanon, between the Nahr el-Kebir and the Litani (Nahr el-Kasimie). The construction of the range presents certain prevailing characteristics. The main ridge lies in general towards the east, but the western slopes are of greater importance, as on these practically all the perennial water is found and to them almost all occupation is confined. The general aspect is bare and rocky, but there are many fertile localities among the hills which are well watered. The range forms a formidable barrier to communication with the interior. Its average altitude is 3,000 ft., but numerous peaks rise to nearly 6,000 ft., and Duldul Dagh, in the north, attains a height of 8,500 ft.
Jebel Ansarie in its northern part has its main ridge close to the sea, skirting the Orontes gorge. It drains southward to the Nahr el-Kebir and eastward to the Orontes, through the cultivable tableland of Jebel Kuseir. Many of the Kebir spurs are clothed with forests. The main ridge lies to the east, at an average height of 3,000 ft., with several peaks. The general aspect of Jebel Ansarie is comparatively tame, and its slopes are easier, its gorges less wild, and its country more fertile and adaptable to cultivation than the Lebanon. Between Hama and Homs the mountainsspread eastward in low and easy slopes, with little orno perennial water. This region is one of the leastknown and least developed in Syria.
