TheAnti-Lebanon mountains (Arabic:جبال لبنان الشرقية,romanized: Jibāl Lubnān ash-Sharqiyyah,lit. 'eastern mountains of Lebanon'), also calledMount Amana, are a southwest–northeast-trending, c. 150 kilometres (93 miles) longmountain range that forms most of theborder between Syria and Lebanon. The border is largely defined along the crest of the range. Most of the range lies inSyria.
ItsWestern nameAnti-Lebanon comes from theGreek andLatinAntilibanus, derived from its position opposite (anti-) and parallel to theMount Lebanon range (Libanus).
The Anti-Lebanon range is approximately 150 kilometres (93 miles) in length. To the south, the range adjoins the lower-lyingGolan Heights plateau, but includes the highest peaks, namelyMount Hermon (Jabal el-Shaykh, in Arabic), at 2,814 metres, and Ta'la't Musa, at 2,669 metres. These peaks, on theLebanese-Syrian border, are snow-covered for much of the year.
To the north, they extend to almost the latitude of the Syrian city ofHoms. The mountains end in the south withMount Hermon, which borders on theGolan Heights; the Golan Heights are a differentgeological andgeomorphological entity, butgeopolitically they are often regarded together with the southern slopes of Mount Hermon, both being Syrian territory occupied byIsrael. To the west of the Anti-Lebanon lie valleys that separate it from Mount Lebanon in centralLebanon:Beqaa Valley in the north and theHasbani River valley in the south. To the east, in Syria, lies theEastern Plateau, location of the city ofDamascus.
The mountains provide arain shadow to the region on their east on their leeward side, such as theSyrian Desert.
An important smuggling route between Lebanon and Syria passes through the Anti-Lebanon mountains.[1]
The area is known for its apricot and cherry trees as well as its stone quarries.[1] In the mountains,amygdalus andpistachio bushes thrive. On the west side are small-scaledeciduous forests and isolateddry coniferous forests with Cilician firs (Abies cilicica), Lebanon cedars (Cedrus libani) and Greek juniper (Juniperus excelsa). Subalpine and alpine plant communities occur over 2,500 metres. The grazing by sheep and goats has led to increased erosion of the remaining forests and substantial deterioration of soil and vegetation. The predominant form of economy is extensive nomadic grazing.
