Geography israel is a sliver of a country, stretching a mere 424 km/263 miles in length. The north and centre of the country may be divided into the fertile coastal plain and the mountainous region that runs down the spine of the country, which falls away to the Jordan Rift Valley in the east. The Negev Desert, combining arid and semi-arid areas, makes up over half the country.

The climate is mediterranean with long, hot, dry summers and short, cool, rainy winters, with occasional snow at higher elevations in winter.