Vegetation and Geology of the Bible LandsThe Bible
Lands are as volatile geologically as they are politically. Earthquakes and volcanoes have plagued the
region for millennia; most recently Iran has been devastated by successive earthquakes. Numerous
plates lie beneath the surface of the region, and it has been the interaction of these plates that has both created the landscape as it is known today and left it geologically unstable. The movements of the plates onto and up against one another resulted in the formation of the region’s diverse topography, from the high Zagros mountain
ranges that border Mesopotamia on the
east, to the largest and lowest valley in the world, the Rift Valley.The
mineral resources of the Bible lands are unevenly distributed. One of the earliest Mesopotamian stories, known to scholars as “Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta,” suggests that writing was developed to facilitate communication between traders of precious stone with Iran. While this is not likely the true origin of writing, the story does accurately reflect the disparity in access to mineral resources that typified the economic history of the region. Most of the surface rocks are sedimentary, with limestone and sandstone being particularly common. Turkey has a wealth of mineral resources, with aboveground deposits of igneous rock in its mountain regions. Volcanic rock (such as basalt and obsidian) is also available in the region and was quickly utilized by many of the earliest human inhabitants.Although the popular image of the Bible lands is one of flat desert landscapes, most of the region is, in fact, better described as mountainous (or at least hilly). Turkey has many mountain ranges: the Pontine running east to west near the Black Sea, the Taurus likewise running east to west near the Mediterranean Sea, the Elburz near the Caspian Sea, and the Zagros in the far east of the country. Mountain ranges run through the Levant, from Syria and Lebanon in the north to Israel in the south. This whole area should be understood as a succession of hills and valleys. With the predominance of mountains and hills comes a high degree of ecological diversity, especially in vegetation.
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