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Geographical information
Jordan is a smallish country with a strange shape. Jordan is bounded to the north by Syria, to the north-east by Iraq, to the east and south by Saudi Arabia and to the west by Israel. Jordan has three distinct geographic zones: the fertile Jordan Valley which runs down the western side of the country; the East Bank plateau, where most of the main towns are; and the East Bank, a desert which stretches east into Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.
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Nature
| Flora | The pine forests of the north of Jordan give way to the cultivated slopes of the Jordan Valley, covered in olive and eucalypt. Further south, towards the Dead Sea, vegetation can not survive due to the high amount of salt in the ground. The landscape is dominated by mud and salt flats. The desert area in the east has not much flora, only some dry bushes can be found. But after the spring showers the desert is for a short period covered with a fascinating amount of plants. | | Fauna | Desert fauna include camels, desert fox, sand rats and hares. The fauna in the hills to the north-east of the Dead Sea are home to bears, badgers and goats. Jordan is particularly noted for its aquatic life, and the Gulf of Aqaba has a huge variety of tropical fish and coral. |
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Climate
Jordan is part of the eastern Mediterranean weather system and boasts one of the world its most pleasant climates. The climate varies from one end of the country to the other. Summers are dry and warm-to-hot and winters are wet and cool-to-cold, with occasional snowstorms. In the highlands there are often strong, cool breezes on summer nights and the low-lying areas enjoy pleasant, moderately cool winters. January is the coldest month and the average winter temperature is above 7 degrees Celsius. The hottest month is August, when temperatures may reach 48 degrees Celsius in the Jordan Valley. In Amman, the average summer temperature is a pleasant 25 degrees Celsius. Rainfall is mostly during the winter months.
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