Iraq has an area of 438,317 sq km (169,235 sq
mi). It is bounded on the north by Turkey; on the east by Iran; on the south by
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the Arab Gulf; and on the west by Jordan and Syria.
The northern portion of Iraq, known as Al
Jazīra, is mountainous. Near the Turkish border elevations reach about 2,100 m
(about 7,000 ft) above sea level; in the northeastern part of the country, near
the border of Iran, there are higher peaks. The highest is Mount Ebrāhīm (Kūh-e
Ḩājī Ebrāhīm or Haji Ibrahim), with an elevation of 3,607 m (11,834 ft) above
sea level. Farther south the country slopes downward to form a broad, central
alluvial plain, which encompasses the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
West of the Euphrates, the land rises gradually to meet the Syrian Desert. The
extreme southeastern portion of Iraq is a low-lying, marshy area adjacent to the
Arab Gulf.
Present-day Iraq occupies the greater part of
the ancient land of Mesopotamia, the plain between the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers. The two rivers flow through Iraq from northwest to southeast. They meet
160 km (100 mi) north of the Persian Gulf to form the Shatt al Arab, which
drains into the gulf. The chief tributaries of the Tigris are the Great Zab, the
Little Zab, and the Diyālá rivers. Level terrain separates the Tigris and the
Euphrates in their lower courses. In ancient times the two rivers were joined by
a network of canals and irrigation ditches, which directed the water of the
higher-lying and more westerly Euphrates across the valley into the Tigris. In
modern times irrigation canals remain important, and the Iraqi government has
built a series of dams on the Tigris and Euphrates for irrigation and for flood
control.
