Starting from the Coast, to the Mountains to the Steppe and Desert, Syria is a land of great diversity.

The Coast:
With about 110 miles (180 kilometers) along the Mediterranean Sea, Syria has quite a short coastline. The coast lies between the Turkish province of Iskanderoun, and Lebanon. It includes both areas of Sandy shores and cliffs and rocky headlands. The coastal mountain range is also on the coastline. From Djebel Aqra to Ras Shamra in the North the coast is rocky, and from Ras El Bassit to Ras Ibn Hani there are arched gulfs like that of Minet El Baida that once sheltered the Great Kingdom of Ugarit. To the north of Tartous, lies a narrow coastal strip which is interrupted by spurs of the coastal mountain range immediately to the east. It then widens into the Sahl 'Akkar (Plain of 'Akkar), which continues south across the Lebanon border.

The Mountains:
The coastal mountain range borders the coastal plain and runs from north to south. The mountains have an average width of 35 km, and their altitude declines from a modest 1729m in the north (east of Latakia) to 1602m at Jebel Aqra to 600m in the south, at the gap near Homs. Directly to the east of the mountains is the Ghab Depression, a 75km longitudinal trench that contains the valley of the Orontes River.

Another mountain range is the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, or Jabal ash-Sharqi, which marks Syria's border with Lebanon. The main ridge rises to a maximum height of 8,625 feet near an-Nabk, while the average height is between 6,000 and 7,000 feet. Mt. Hermon (Jabal ash-Shaykh), Syria's highest point, rises to 9,232 feet (2,814 meters), although it is now under occupied territory in the Golan Heights.

Smaller mountains are scattered about the country. Among these are Jabal ad-Duruz, which rises to 5,905 feet in the extreme south, and the Jabal Abu Rujmayn, which stretches northeastward across the central part of the country.

The Fertile Crescent:
This semi circle of fertile land encompasses the Syrian Desert. This is where agriculture first began. Starting from the Ghab depression it extends eastward to create the most important geographical feature in Syria. With the addition of the Dam on the Euphrates, and modern irrigation this part of Syria is the area with the biggest production of cotton.

The Syrian Desert:
The reason behind Syria's undeveloped cultivation is the Syrian Desert, which comprises about 58% of the Syrian territory. These undulating plains, often called the steppe have a general elevation between 980 and 1,640 feet; they are seldom less than 820 feet above sea level. The area is not a sand desert but comprises rock and gravel steppe; a mountainous region in the south-central area is known as al-Hamad, and the main oasis is that at the foot of the Palmyrene mountains which has very sulfurous water springs. The Climate here generally tends to be continental. Summers are long and extremely hot, while winters are short with severe cold winds.