Lake Qaraoun - Geography

Geography

The upper Litani River, where the artificial lake or reservoir has been created with the dam at elevation of about 800 metres (2,620 feet), is in the inland region of the Beqaa Valley, whose elevation range generally lies between 650–1,600 metres (2,130–5,250 ft), with mountain peaks raising as high as 3,090 metres (10,140 ft).

The Litani River drains the southern end of the Beqaa Valley plains (a continuation of the Jordan Rift Valley), crossing the southern periphery of the Mount Lebanon range and discharging into the sea north of Tyre, after traversing a length of 170 kilometres (110 miles) entirely in Lebanon. The hydrographical system of Lebanon consisting of 40 major streams is typecast into five regions, which includes the Litani River Basin formed by the Litani River in its eastern and southern part, with the river debouching into the sea at the southwestern end. The basin has a total catchment area of 2,120 square kilometres (820 square miles), which forms 20% area of the country, with about 1,600 km2 (600 sq mi) intercepted at Lake Qaraoun by El Wauroun Dam for providing various benefits. The artificial lake is created across the Litani River in its middle reaches. Litani River is the longest river in Lebanon at the southern end of the Beqaa valley.

The Litani River, which lies entirely within the territory of Lebanon rises near the historic city of Baalbek (now the site hardly discernible due to high rate of water extraction in this reach for pumping and ancient city development) and flows through for 170 kilometres (110 mi) before it outlets into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the 40 major streams in Lebanon and is the longest from the source to the Mediterranean sea.

The land on the periphery of the reservoir consists of agricultural lands on the eastern side where arable crops and olive orchards are seen. Grazing of sheep and goats is also noted. On the steep sloping western periphery of the lake there are fruit orchards and pasture land for grazing.