The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the northeast by Syria, the east by Jordan and the West Bank, and to the southwest by Egypt. To the west of Israel is the Mediterranean Sea, which makes up the majority of Israel's 273 km (170 mi) coastline, and the Gaza Strip. Israel has a small coastline on the Red Sea in the south.
Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m (9,232 ft) above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. On the top, in the United Nations buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli-occupied territories, is the highest permanently manned UN position in the world, known as "Hermon Hotel", located at 2814 metres altitude (9,232 ft). The southern slopes of Mount Hermon extend to the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights, where the Mount Hermon ski resort is located with a top elevation of 2,040 m (6,690 ft). A peak in this area rising to 2,236 m (7,336 ft) is the highest elevation in Israeli-controlled territory.
The Anti-Lebanon mountains are a southwest–northeast-trending, c. 150 kilometres long mountain range that forms most of the border between Syria and Lebanon. The border is largely defined along the crest of the range. Most of the range lies in Syria.
Majdal Shams is a town in the Golan Heights, located in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. Known as the informal "capital" of the region, the town's residents are almost entirely Druze. Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, Majdal Shams has been controlled by Israel, although the international community recognizes it as part of Syria. It was initially administered under the Israeli Military Governorate, but was incorporated into Israel's system of local councils after the Knesset ratified the Golan Heights Law in 1981, effectively annexing the territory in a move that has been officially recognized only by the United States, which did so by through a March 2019 presidential proclamation.
Shouting Hill is a hill in the Golan Heights. The hill is located near the Druze village of Majdal Shams, in the area of the Golan that is occupied by Israel. During the Six-Day War, Israel captured most of the Golan Heights. Shouting Hill is located close to the Purple Line, a ceasefire line that separates Syrian and Israeli controlled territory.
The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon with Mount Hermon in the north and Wadi Raqqad in the east. Two thirds of the area was occupied by Israel following the 1967 Six-Day War and then effectively annexed in 1981, the latter being rejected by the international community which continues to consider the territory as Syrian and under Israeli occupation.
Mas'ade is a Druze village in the northern Golan Heights. It covers an area of 11,985 dunams, and in 2022 had a population of 3,869. It was given the status of a local council in 1982. Its inhabitants are mostly Syrian citizens and have permanent residency in Israel. Since the adoption of the 1981 Golan Heights Law, Mas'ade is under Israeli civil law and is incorporated into the Israeli system of local councils.
Highway 99 is an east-west highway in the Finger of the Galilee in far northeast of Israel and the Golan Heights. It begins in the west at HaMetzodot junction in Kiryat Shmona, and it ends in the east at the Druze city of Mas'ade. After it reaches the Banias tributary, the road follows the path of Sa'ar River. Highway 99 is 24 km long.
Highway 92 is a north-south highway in northeastern Israel. It follows the eastern edge of the Kinneret from Ma'agan junction in the south at Highway 98 to Yehudiya junction in the north at Highway 87. It is 26.15 km long.
Highway 91 is an east-west highway in northern Israel and the Golan Heights. It extends through the Jordan Rift Valley and the central Golan Heights. It begins in the west at Mahanayim junction with Highway 90, and it ends in the east at Zivan junction near the Israeli settlement Ein Zivan, where it meets Highway 98. The road is 28 km long.
Highway 87 is a 35 km long east-west highway in northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It extends from the northern shores of Lake Kinneret through the central Golan Heights. It begins in the west at Kfar Nahum/Capernaum and ends in the east at Bashan Junction.
The Petroleum Road or Tapline Road is a 47 km (29 mi) long, privately owned north-south asphalt road in the Golan Heights. The name Petroleum Road derives from the now defunct oil pipeline of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company, which the road runs adjacent to. It begins near Mount Peres on the east edge of the central Golan and ends in the northern Golan near the Israeli-occupied Golan-Lebanese frontier, nearby Ghajar.
Route 999 is an east–west regional route in the northern Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the Six-Day War in 1967. Its access is restricted to Israeli army vehicles for almost its entire length. It begins from Si'on adjacent to the community Snir and the village Ghajar, where it splits north from Highway 99. About 2 km after this junction stands an IDF checkpoint. After the checkpoint, the road moves in a northeast direction and climbs steeply on Shebaa farms in parallel with the international border between Golan Heights and Lebanon. The road passes near the Shebaa farms while on its steep course in the Mount Hermon nature reserve. For the entire length of the road, IDF installations are standing, and it ends its length of 29 km with another IDF checkpoint near the lower cable car of Mount Hermon, where it meets Highway 98.
Route 978 is a regional north-south Israeli highway in the Golan Heights.
Route 959 is a regional east-west highway in the Golan Heights. It proceeds from Gonen junction in the west until Bar'on Junction in the east.
Route 918 is a north-south regional highway in the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights.
Route 386 is a road in Israel that runs from Tzur Hadassah to Jerusalem.
Hermon nature reserve is a nature reserve in the north of the Golan Heights. It includes an area in southern Mount Hermon which is located in the Israeli occupied portion of the Golan Heights. The reserve excludes the Mount Hermon ski resort, Neve Ativ and the Nimrod Fortress National Park. The total area of the reserve is approximately 78,270 dunam.
The Bethsaida Valley, Arabic: Buq'at al-Butayhah, is a valley by the northeast shores of the Sea of Galilee at the steep foothills of the central Golan Heights.
Highway 989 is a regional route in the northern Golan, connecting Sa'ar on Highway 99 with Majdal Shams on Highway 98.
