1.2 Topography
The Country consists of different distinctive topographic units trending in a general north-south direction. The rift valley forms the western part of the country. It trends in a general south-north direction from the Gulf of Aqaba through the Dead Sea to Lake Tiberias. The elevation of the bottom of the valley ranges from sea level in Aqaba at the shores of the Red Sea to around (240m) ASL at a distance of (80km) to the north, and from there it drops gradually to about (400m) BSL at the present shores of the Dead Sea and further to around (750m) BSL at the bottom of the Dead Sea, To the north of the Dead Sea the floor elevation rises gradually to around (210m) BSL at the shores of Lake Tiberias. This rift valley, with a length of (375km), is about (30km) wide in the area of Wadi Araba and narrows to around 4km in the Lake Tiberias area.
The highlands east of the Jordan rift valley rise to elevations of more than (1000m) ASL in the north at Ajlun and Balqa and to more than (1200m) ASL in Shoubak and Ras El Naqab areas. The width of this zone ranges from (30 to 50 km) and extends from the Yarmouk River in the north to Aqaba in the south. These elevations drop gradually to the plateau in the east, but more sharply to the rift valley in the west. The mountains forming the highlands consist mainly of sedimentary rocks with deeply incised wadies draining in a westerly direction.
The steppe or plateau of Jordan developed at the eastern toes of the highlands with elevations of drainage areas ranging from (1000m) ASL in the south to (700m) in the northeast. The deepest part of this plateau lies at an elevation of 500m ASL; Azraq Oasis. The plateau is a pen plain with hills and weakly incised wadis, but generally a smooth topography