Lebanon historically described by the epithet “pearl of the middle east” is a mountainous country situated along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. As part of the Middle East, it borders Israel and Syria.

The Dead Sea Transformation Rift, the northern part of the Great Rift, dominates the geography of Lebanon, dividing the country into four roughly parallel strips from west to east; the coastal strip, the Lebanon Mountains, the Bekaa Valley and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Lebanon experiences a Mediterranean climate of long, hot, and dry summers and cooler, rainy winters.

Lebanon has few mineral resources but does have deposits of limestone, iron ore and salt.