Map of Jordan
Jordan is a country in Asia with its capital at Amman, home to about 11.52 million people across 89,341 km². The interactive map below plots 9 cities and towns, 1 rivers, 1 lakes, 1 mountain summits and 1 ports recorded for Jordan in YearMaps.
- Population
- 11.52 million
- Area
- 89,341 km²
- Capital
- Amman
- Continent
- Asia
Interactive Map of Jordan
Centred on Amman at 31.9520° N, 35.9314° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
Great Monument of Jordan
Petra (Al-Khazneh & Ad-Deir) is marked on the map above. Click a pin or use "Show on map" to fly to it.
Petra (Al-Khazneh & Ad-Deir)
Nabataean Kingdom · Classical Antiquity
Petra (Arabic: ٱلْبَتْراء, romanized: al-Batrāʾ; Ancient Greek: Πέτρα, lit. 'Rock'), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu (Nabataean Aramaic: 𐢛𐢚𐢒 or 𐢛𐢚𐢓𐢈, *Raqēmō), is an ancient city and archaeological site in southern Jordan. Famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit systems, Petra is also called the "Rose City" because of the colour of the sandstone from which it is carved. The city is one of the New 7 Wonders of the World and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The area around Petra has been inhabited from as early as 7000 BC, and was settled by the Nabataeans, a nomadic Arab people, in the 4th century BC. Petra would later become the capital city of the Nabataean Kingdom in the second century BC. The Nabataeans invested in Petra's proximity to the incense trade routes by establishing it as a major regional trading hub, which gained them considerable revenue. The Nabataeans were able to survive the desert due to efficient rainwater collecting and desert farming.
Petra flourished in the 1st century AD, when its Al-Khazneh structure, possibly the mausoleum of Nabataean king Aretas IV, was constructed, and its population peaked at an estimated 20,000 inhabitants. Nabataea fell to the Romans in 106 AD, who annexed and renamed it Arabia Petraea. Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after an earthquake in 363 destroyed many structures. In the Byzantine era, several Christian churches were built, but the city continued to decline and, by the early Islamic era, it was abandoned except for a handful of nomads. It remained unknown to the western world until 1812, when Swiss traveller Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it.
UNESCO has described Petra as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". Petra is a symbol of Jordan, as well as Jordan's most-visited tourist attraction. Visitor numbers reach close to a million tourists every year.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Petra (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Built by
- Nabataean Kingdom
- Built
- 312 BCE
- Era
- Classical Antiquity
- Type
- Rock-cut Sanctuary
- Status
- UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Coordinates
- 30.3286° N, 35.4444° E
Architectural Significance
Hellenistic-influenced classical rock-cut facades carved top-to-bottom directly out of precipitous sandstone canyons, paired with flash-flood cistern engineering.
Photos of Petra (Al-Khazneh & Ad-Deir)
Jean Housen · CC BY-SA 3.0 
hikinginjordan · CC BY-SA 3.0 
Susanahajer · CC BY-SA 3.0
History & architecture of Petra (Al-Khazneh & Ad-Deir)
History
By 7000 BC, some of the earliest recorded farmers had settled in Beidha, a Pre-Pottery Neolithic settlement just north of Petra.
Petra is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela, or Seir.
The Iron Age lasted between 1200 and 600 BC; in that time, the Petra area was occupied by the Edomites. The configuration of mountains in Petra allowed for a reservoir of water for the Edomites. This made Petra a stopping point for merchants, making it an outstanding area for trade. Some wares that were traded included wines, olive oil, and wood.
Layout
Petra is adjacent to the mountain of Jabal Al-Madbah, in a basin surrounded by mountains forming the eastern flank of the Arabah valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.
Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods, but archaeological evidence shows that the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns, and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.
In ancient times, Petra might have been approached from the south on a track leading across the plain of Petra, around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), the location of the Tomb of Aaron, said to be the burial place of Aaron, brother of Moses. Another approach was possibly from the high plateau to the north. Today, most modern visitors approach the site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge, in places only 3–4 m (10–13 ft) wide, called the Siq ("shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Petra (CC BY-SA 4.0).
About Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and both Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west. The Jordan River, flowing into the Dead Sea, is located along the country's western border within the Jordan Rift Valley. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt. Amman is the country's capital and largest city, as well as the most populous city in the Levant.
Inhabited by humans since the Paleolithic period, three kingdoms developed in Transjordan during the Iron Age: Ammon, Moab and Edom. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their kingdom centered in Petra. The Greco-Roman period saw the establishment of several cities in Transjordan that comprised the Decapolis. After the end of Byzantine rule, the region became part of the Islamic caliphates of the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Ottoman. Following the 1916 Great Arab Revolt during World War I, former Ottoman Syria was partitioned, leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, which became a British protectorate. In 1946, Jordan gained independence and became officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Jordan captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Palestine war until it was occupied by Israel in 1967. Jordan renounced its claim to the territory to the Palestinians in 1988 and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.
Jordan is a semi-arid country, covering an area of 89,342 km2 (34,495 sq mi) with a population of 11.5 million, making it the eleventh-most populous Arab country. The dominant majority, or around 95% of the country's population, is Sunni Muslim, with the rest being mostly Arab Christian. Jordan was mostly unscathed by the violence that swept the region following the Arab Spring in 2010. From as early as 1948, Jordan has accepted refugees from multiple neighbouring countries in conflict. An estimated 2.1 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship, as well as 1.4 million Syrian refugees, were residing in Jordan in 2015. The kingdom is also a refuge for thousands of Christian Iraqis fleeing persecution. While Jordan continues to accept refugees, the large Syrian influx during the 2010s has placed substantial strain on national resources and infrastructure.
The sovereign state is a semi-constitutional monarchy, but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Jordan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Jordan
After World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the League of Nations awarded Britain the mandate to govern much of the Middle East. In 1921, Britain demarcated from Palestine a semi-autonomous region of Transjordan and recognized ABDALLAH I from the Hashemite family as the country's first leader. The Hashemites also controlled the Hijaz, or the western coastal area of modern-day Saudi Arabia, until 1925, when IBN SAUD and Wahhabi tribes pushed them out. The country gained its independence in 1946 and thereafter became the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country has had four kings. Long-time ruler King HUSSEIN (r. 1953-99) successfully navigated competing pressures from the major powers (US, UK, and Soviet Union), various Arab states, Israel, and Palestinian militants, the latter of which led to a brief civil war in 1970 that is known as "Black September" and ended in King HUSSEIN ousting the militants. Jordan's borders have changed since it gained independence. In 1948, Jordan took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the first Arab-Israeli War, eventually annexing those territories in 1950 and granting its new Palestinian residents Jordanian citizenship. In 1967, Jordan lost the West Bank and East Jerusalem to Israel in the Six-Day War but retained administrative claims to the West Bank until 1988, when King HUSSEIN permanently relinquished Jordanian claims to the West Bank in favor of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). King HUSSEIN signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, after Israel and the PLO signed the Oslo Accords in 1993. Jordanian kings continue to claim custodianship of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem by virtue of their Hashemite heritage as descendants of the Prophet Mohammad and agreements with Israel and Jerusalem-based religious and Palestinian leaders. After Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 War, it authorized the Jordanian-controlled Islamic Trust, or Waqf, to continue administering the Al Haram ash Sharif/Temple Mount holy compound, and the Jordan-Israel peace treaty reaffirmed Jordan's "special role" in administering the Muslim holy shrines in Jerusalem. Jordanian kings claim custodianship of the Christian sites in Jerusalem on the basis of the 7th-century Pact of Omar, when the Muslim leader, after conquering Jerusalem, agreed to permit Christian worship. King HUSSEIN died in 1999 and was succeeded by his eldest son and current King ABDALLAH II. In 2009, ABDALLAH II designated his son HUSSEIN as the Crown Prince. During his reign, ABDALLAH II has contended with a series of challenges, including the Arab Spring influx of refugees from neighboring states, the COVID-19 pandemic, the effects of the war in Ukraine, a perennially weak economy, and the Israel-HAMAS conflict that began in October 2023.
- Location
- Middle East, northwest of Saudi Arabia, between Israel (to the west) and Iraq.
- Climate
- Mostly arid desert; rainy season in west (November to April)
- Terrain
- Mostly arid desert plateau; a great north-south geological rift along the west of the country is the dominant topographical feature and includes the Jordan River Valley, the Dead Sea, and the Jordanian Highlands.
- Highest point
- Jabal Umm ad Dami 1,854 m.
- Lowest point
- Dead Sea -431 m.
- Coastline
- 26 km.
- Land borders
- Total: 1,744 km; border countries: Iraq 179 km; Israel 307 km; Saudi Arabia 731 km; Syria 379 km; West Bank 148 km.
- Major lakes
- Salt water lake(s): Dead Sea (shared with Israel and West Bank) - 1,020 sq km note - endorheic hypersaline lake; 9.6 times saltier than the ocean; lake shore is 431 meters below sea level.
- Natural resources
- Phosphates, potash, shale oil.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 11.5% (2023 est.); arable land: 2.3% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 0.9% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 8.4% (2023 est.); forest: 0.8% (2023 est.); other: 87.7% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Droughts; periodic earthquakes; flash floods.
- Geographic note
- Strategic location at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba; the Arab country that shares the longest border with Israel and the West Bank; the Dead Sea, the lowest point in Asia and the second saltiest body of water in the world (after Lac Assal in Djibouti), lies on Jordan's western border with Israel and the West Bank; Jordan is almost landlocked but does have a 26 km southwestern coastline with a single port, Al 'Aqabah (Aqaba)
- Languages
- Arabic (official), English (widely understood among upper and middle classes)
- Religions
- Muslim 97.1% (official; predominantly Sunni), Christian 2.1% (majority Greek Orthodox, but some Greek and Roman Catholics, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, and Protestant denominations), Buddhist 0.4%, Hindu 0.1%, Jewish <0.1%, folk <0.1%, other <0.1%, unaffiliated <0.1% (2020 est.)
- Ethnic groups
- Jordanian 69.3%, Syrian 13.3%, Palestinian 6.7%, Egyptian 6.7%, Iraqi 1.4%, other 2.6% (2015 est.)
- Economy
- Upper-middle-income Middle Eastern economy; high debt and unemployment, especially for youth and women; global events triggering trade slump and decreased revenue from tourism; growing manufacturing and agricultural sectors; key US foreign assistance recipient; natural-resource-poor and import-reliant.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Jordan in Numbers
- Population
- 11.52 million
- GDP
- US$61.6 billion
- GDP per person
- US$5,348
- Life expectancy
- 78.0 years
- Population growth
- -0.28% a year
- Population density
- 130 per km²
- Urban population
- 93.2%
- Surface area
- 89,318 km²
- Forest cover
- 0.8%
- Arable land
- 2.3%
- Access to electricity
- 100.0%
- Internet users
- 95.6%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Jordan in Depth
History
The oldest known evidence of hominid habitation in Jordan dates back at least 200,000 years. Jordan is a rich source of Paleolithic human remains (up to 20,000 years old) due to its location within the Levant, where migrations out of Africa converged, and its more humid climate during the Late Pleistocene, which resulted in the formation of numerous remains-preserving wetlands in the region. Past lakeshore environments attracted different groups of hominids, and several remains of tools dating from the Late Pleistocene have been found there. Scientists have found the world's oldest known evidence of bread-making at a 14,500-year-old Natufian site in Jordan's northeastern desert.
Geography
Jordan sits strategically at the crossroads of the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent, a cradle of civilisation. Its area is 89,341 square kilometres (34,495 sq mi), and it is 400 kilometres (250 mi) long between its northernmost and southernmost points; Umm Qais and Aqaba respectively. The kingdom lies between 29° and 34° N, and 34° and 40° E. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north, and Israel and Palestine (West Bank) to the west.
The east is an arid plateau irrigated by oases and seasonal streams. Major cities are overwhelmingly located on the north-western part of the kingdom with its fertile soils and relatively abundant rainfall.
Economy
Jordan is classified by the World Bank as a lower middle income country. The World Food Programme classified Jordan's economy as upper-middle income, as well as being poor in resources with limited land for agriculture. Approximately 15.7% of the population lived on or below the national poverty line in 2018, while almost a third fell below the national poverty line during some time of the year, known as transient poverty. The economy, which has a GDP of $39.453 billion (as of 2016), grew at an average rate of 8% per annum between 2004 and 2008, and around 2.6% from 2010 onwards. GDP per capita increased by 351% in the 1970s, declined 30% in the 1980s, and rose 36% in the 1990s; it was $9,406 per capita by purchasing power parity in 2017.
Demographics
The 2015 census showed a population of 9,531,712 (female: 47%; males: 53%). Around 2.9 million (30%) were non-citizens, a figure including refugees and illegal immigrants. There were 1,977,534 households in 2015, with an average of 4.8 persons per household, compared to 6.7 persons per household for the census of 1979. The population of Amman was 65,754 in 1946, but exceeded 4 million in 2015.
Arabs make up about 98% of the population. The remaining 2% consist largely of peoples from the Caucasus including Circassians, Armenians, and Chechens, along with smaller minority groups.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Jordan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Jordan: Key Facts
| Currency | Jordanian dinar |
|---|---|
| Official language | Arabic |
| Head of state | Abdullah II of Jordan |
| Head of government | Jafar Hassan |
| Calling code | +962 |
| Internet domain | .jo |
| Highest point | Jabal Umm ad Dami |
| Lowest point | Dead Sea |
| Established | 1946 |
Facts from Wikidata Q810 (CC0).
History of Jordan: Empires and States
The atlas records 36 polities whose mapped territory included part of Jordan, from Hyksos in 1700 BCE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| Hyksos | 1700–1401 BCE | Most |
| Ancient Egyptian Kingdoms | 1400–1151 BCE | Most |
| New Kingdom of Egypt | 1400–1151 BCE | Most |
| Kingdom of Israel | 1000–701 BCE | A large part |
| Neo-Assyrian Empire | 700–601 BCE | Nearly all |
| Assyrian Egypt | 650–616 BCE | Nearly all |
| Neo-Babylonian Empire | 600–531 BCE | Nearly all |
| Achaemenid Empire | 530–332 BCE | Nearly all |
| Achaemenid Persian Empire | 530–332 BCE | Nearly all |
| Ptolemaic Kingdom | 331–31 BCE | A large part |
| The Macedonian Empire of Alexander | 323–302 BCE | A large part |
| Seleucid Empire | 197–165 BCE | A large part |
| Nabataeans | 164 BCE – 105 CE | Most |
| Judea | 110 BCE – 5 CE | A large part |
| Roman Republic | 63–32 BCE | A large part |
| The Roman Empire | 30 BCE – 476 CE | Nearly all |
| Palmyrene Empire | 261–269 CE | Nearly all |
| Eastern Roman Empire | 395–632 CE | Nearly all |
| The Byzantine Empire | 395–633 CE | Nearly all |
| Ghassanids | 510–633 CE | A small part |
| The Sasanian Empire | 617–628 CE | Most |
| Rashidun Caliphate | 634–655 CE | Nearly all |
| The Umayyad Caliphate | 656–750 CE | Nearly all |
| The Abbasid Caliphate | 751–969 CE | Nearly all |
| Tulunids | 878–910 CE | Nearly all |
| Fatimid Caliphate | 970–1098 CE | Nearly all |
| Great Seljuk Empire | 1072–1125 CE | A large part |
| Kingdom of Jerusalem | 1126–1168 CE | Most |
| Zengid dynasty | 1169–1176 CE | Nearly all |
| Ayyubid Sultanate | 1177–1249 CE | Nearly all |
| Mamluk Sultanate | 1241–1518 CE | Nearly all |
| The Ottoman Empire | 1519–1917 CE | Nearly all |
| Muhammad Ali dynasty | 1834–1841 CE | Nearly all |
| British Africa | 1922–1945 CE | Nearly all |
| The British Empire | 1922–1946 CE | Nearly all |
| Kingdom of Jordan | 1947–2024 CE | Nearly all |
Historical Maps of Jordan
Jordan on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Jordan
Jordan (Arabic: الأردنّ, al-Urdunn) is an Arab kingdom in the Middle East, at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe. It has been repeatedly called an "oasis of stability" in the Middle East. Since the 1940s, millions have immigrated to Jordan for a better life. With an extensive collection of tourist attractions, ranging from biblical sites to seaside sites, there is a lot to see and do in Jordan.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Jordan (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Jordan
9 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amman | 1.06 million | Amman | National capital |
| 2 | Az Zarqa | 894,691 | Zarqa | Admin-1 capital |
| 3 | Irbid | 650,000 | Irbid | Admin-1 capital |
| 4 | As Salt | 140,689 | Balqa | Admin-1 capital |
| 5 | Al Aqabah | 95,048 | Aqaba | Populated place |
| 6 | Al Karak | 80,062 | Karak | Admin-1 capital |
| 7 | Al Mafraq | 57,118 | Mafraq | Admin-1 capital |
| 8 | Ma'an | 50,350 | Ma`an | Admin-1 capital |
| 9 | At Tafilah | 25,429 | Tafilah | Admin-1 capital |
Highest Mountains in Jordan
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jabal Ramm | 1,754 m | 5,755 ft | Asia |
Jabal Ramm
Mountain · 1,754 m
Jabal Ramm is a mountain rising to 1,754 metres (5,755 ft) in Jordan, in the Asia region. From PeakBagger.com, with kind permission..
Jabal Ram is a mountain in Jordan. Most authorities give its elevation as 1,734 m (5,689 ft) above sea level. It was once thought to be the highest point in Jordan, but SRTM data shows that Jabal Umm al Dami is 1,854 m (6,083 ft) above sea level and therefore higher.
Traditional climbing routes over its eastern face make it one of the main attractions for climbers.
There are about ten scrambling routes across the mountain.
Tony Howard wrote a valuable book about Jordan, including Wadi Rum and Jabal Rum: Treks and Climbs in Wadi Rum, Jordan.
The most popular scrambling routes are the Thamudic and Sheikh Hamdans.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Jabal Ram (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Elevation
- 1,754 m (5,755 ft)
- Global rank
- #458 of 641 indexed
- Region
- Asia (#166)
- Country
- Jordan
- Coordinates
- 29.5701°, 35.4001°
Of the 641 named summits indexed in YearMaps, Jabal Ramm ranks #458 by elevation, below Tianzhu Shan (1,760 m) and above Mount Richard-Molard (1,752 m).
- Ranges:
- Lebanon Mountains (Asia), Taurus Mountains (Asia)
- Neighbouring summits:
- Jabal al Lawz (2,580 m), Har Meron (1,208 m), Qurnat as Sawdā (3,088 m)
- Settlements below:
- Al Aqabah (32 km), Ma'an (76 km), At Tafilah (142 km)
Largest Lakes in Jordan
1 lake recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead Sea | 656 km² | Alkaline Lake |
Dead Sea
Alkaline Lake · 656 km²
Dead Sea is a alkaline lake in Jordan, Palestine and Israel, with a mapped surface area of about 656 km². About 64% of its surface lies in Jordan, and the rest in Palestine and Israel.
The Dead Sea (Arabic: اَلْبَحْر الْمَيِّت, romanized: al-Baḥr al-Mayyit; or اَلْبَحْر الْمَيْت, al-Baḥr al-Mayt; Hebrew: יַם הַמֶּלַח, romanized: Yam hamMelaḥ), also known by other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
As of 2025, the lake's surface is 439.78 metres (1,443 ft) below sea level, making its shores the lowest land-based elevation on Earth. It is 304 m (997 ft) deep, which makes it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With a salinity of 342 g/kg, or 34.2% (in 2011), it is one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, 9.6 times as salty as the ocean—and has a density of 1.24 kg/L, which makes swimming similar to floating. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea's main, northern basin is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and 15 kilometres (9 mi) wide at its widest point.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Dead Sea (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Surface area
- 656 km²
- Area rank
- #259 of 756 indexed
- Type
- Alkaline Lake
- Countries
- Jordan, Palestine, Israel
- Coordinates
- 31.4718°, 35.4858°
Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Dead Sea ranks #259 by surface area, after Biwa Ko (662 km²) and ahead of Lake Ballard (656 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.
- Watercourses:
- Jordan (River), Suez Canal (River)
More about Dead Sea
Geography
The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Palestine's Israeli-occupied West Bank and Israel to the west. It is an endorheic lake, meaning there are no outlet streams.
The Dead Sea lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
(Wadi is the Arabic term for a river valley with a small or intermittent stream; Nahal is the equivalent in Hebrew. The two terms are often used interchangeably in English names for the same body of water.)
Geology
There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that the Dead Sea lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a "step-over" discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating an extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
During the late Pliocene-early Pleistocene, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and the northern Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay that is called by geologists the Sedom Lagoon, which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley.
Human history
Dwelling in caves near the Dead Sea is recorded in the Hebrew Bible as having taken place before the Israelites came to Canaan, and extensively at the time of King David.
Just northwest of the Dead Sea is Jericho. Somewhere, perhaps on the southeastern shore, would be the cities mentioned in the Book of Genesis which were said to have been destroyed in the time of Abraham: Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18) and the three other "Cities of the Plain", Admah, Zeboim and Zoar (Deuteronomy 29:23). Zoar escaped destruction when Abraham's nephew Lot escaped to Zoar from Sodom (Genesis 19:21–22). Before the destruction, the Dead Sea was a valley full of natural tar pits, which was called the vale of Siddim. King David was said to have hidden from Saul at Ein Gedi nearby.
Climate
The Dead Sea has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification BWh), with year-round sunny skies and dry air. It has less than 50 millimetres (2 in) mean annual rainfall and a summer average temperature between 32 and 39 °C (90 and 102 °F). Winter average temperatures range between 20 and 23 °C (68 and 73 °F). The region has weaker ultraviolet radiation, particularly the UVB (erythrogenic rays).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Dead Sea (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Dead Sea: Key Facts
| Surface area | 605 km² |
|---|---|
| Maximum depth | 360 m |
| Surface elevation | -441.5 m |
| Inflows | Jordan River, Nahal Mishmar, Nahal HaArava, Arnon, Arugot Stream, Tze'elim Stream |
Facts from Wikidata Q23883 (CC0).
Rivers in Jordan
1 river recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
| Name | Type | Also Flows Through |
|---|---|---|
| Jordan | River | Israel, Palestine, Lebanon |
Ports in Jordan
1 port recorded. Ranked by approach channel depth, the figure that limits which ships can call. Harbours link to their write-up on the page of the sea or coast they lie on.
| # | Name | Channel Depth | Class | Sea | Max Vessel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | al Aqabah | 5.5 m | Very Small | Red Sea & Gulf of Aden | medium vessels |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Jordan
8 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Petra | 1985 | Cultural | (i) (iii) (iv) |
| 2 | Qasr Amra | 1985 | Cultural | (i) (iii) (iv) |
| 3 | Umm ar-Rasas | 2004 | Cultural | (i) (iv) (vi) |
| 4 | Wadi Rum | 2011 | Mixed | (iii) (v) (vii) |
| 5 | Al Maghtas | 2015 | Cultural | (iii) (vi) |
| 6 | Salt | 2021 | Cultural | (ii) (iii) |
| 7 | Umm el-Jimal | 2024 | Cultural | (v) (vi) |
| 8 | Aqaba Marine Reserve | 2026 | Natural | (ix) (x) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Jordan
4 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Asia | 46.28M km² | Continent | Asia |
| 2 | Arabian Peninsula | 297,867 km² | Pen/cape | Asia |
| 3 | Syrian Desert | 181,173 km² | Desert | Asia |
| 4 | Negev Desert | 66 km² | Desert | Africa |
Countries Bordering Jordan
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Asia
Jordan: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Jordan?
- The capital of Jordan is Amman.
- What is the population of Jordan?
- Jordan has a population of about 11.52 million, the #84 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Jordan?
- Jordan covers 89,341 km², ranking #113 by area, with about 129 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Jordan in?
- Jordan is in Asia.
- Which countries border Jordan?
- Jordan shares a land or maritime border with Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Palestine.
- What is the largest city in Jordan?
- Amman is the largest city in Jordan, with a metropolitan population of about 1.06 million.
- What is the highest mountain in Jordan?
- The highest summit recorded for Jordan in YearMaps is Jabal Ramm at 1,754 m (5,755 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
- What is the largest lake in Jordan?
- The largest lake recorded in or bordering Jordan is Dead Sea, at roughly 656 km².
- What are the famous wonders and monuments of Jordan?
- Jordan's great monuments in YearMaps are Petra (Al-Khazneh & Ad-Deir). Each is written up on this page with photographs and its history.