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| Israel covers 10,840 square miles (27,800 sq. km.). It is roughly 280 miles (450 km.) long, and 85 miles (135 km.) wide at its broadest point. A trip from Metulla in the far north to Eilat on the Red Sea takes about nine hours by car, while a 90-minute drive will take you from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Dead Sea in the east.
Despite its modest size, Israel is geographically diverse. The coastal plain is comprised of a sandy shoreline, with chalk and sandstone cliffs in the north, and is bordered by stretches of fertile farmland that extend out to 25 miles (40 km.) inland. The mountainous Golan Heights in the north stand in stark contrast to the round hills of Galilee and Samaria, and to the Judean hills in the center of the country. The southern Negev desert abounds with canyons, dramatic cliffs and wadis. The Jordan Valley and Arava (a desert area), which are part of the great Syrian-African rift, connect the fertile north to the arid Dead Sea, which, at 1,300 feet (400 meters) below sea level, is the lowest point on earth.
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