Litani River
| Litani River | |
|---|---|
The Litani River in brown, the Lebanese capital city Beirut in red | |
| Location | |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Beqaa Valley |
| • coordinates | 34°00′53″N 36°05′56″E / 34.0146°N 36.0988°E |
| Mouth | Levantine Sea Mediterranean Sea |
• location | North of Tyre, South Governorate, Lebanon |
• coordinates | 33°20′23″N 35°14′39″E / 33.3397°N 35.2443°E |
| Length | 174 km (108 mi) |
| Basin size | 2,110 km² (815 sq mi) |
| Discharge | |
| • average | 29.17 m³/s (7,707 US gal/s) |
The Litani River (Arabic: نهر الليطاني, romanized: Nahr al-Līṭānī), the classical Leontes (Ancient Greek: Λεόντης, romanized: Leóntes, lit. 'lion river'), known in medieval times as Līṭa (Arabic: نهر ليطا, romanized: Nahr Līṭā), is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding 140 kilometres (87 mi) in length, the Litani is the longest river that flows entirely in Lebanon and provides an average annual flow estimated at 920 million cubic meters (over 240 million Imperial gallons or 243 million U.S. gallons). The Litani provides a major source for water supply, irrigation and hydroelectricity both within Southern Lebanon, and the country as a whole.