This ecosystem consists of escarpments and mountains, hills and undulating plateaus which extends mainly from Irbid in the North to Ras Al-Naqab in the South, and from the Rift Valley region in the West to the Badia region in the East.
This ecosystem consists of escarpments and mountains, hills and undulating plateaus which extends mainly from Irbid in the North to Ras Al-Naqab in the South, and from the Rift Valley region in the West to the Badia region in the East.
The mountains in the southern half of its region are higher on average, and some range between 1,200 and 1,600 m high. Numerous broad, shallow, gravelly wadis drain the eastern and western flanks of this region. There is also an isolated tract of high mountains between Ras Al-Naqab and the Saudi border, including the highest peaks in Jordan Jabal Um Ishrin, at 1750 m.
The largest remaining areas of natural woodland occur in the highlands between Amman and Irbid, and are dominated by Pinus halepensis above 700 m, whilst mixed evergreen/deciduous oak woodland of Quercus calliprinos and Quercus aegilops dominates at lower elevations where the original pine-dominated woodland has been degraded.
Cultivation of rain-fed wheat is widespread on the plateau between Madaba and Irbid, and olive groves cover a large part of the north-western mountains above 700 m. More than 80% of the Kingdom’s cities and villages occur within this region.