The governorate has a long northern boundary with the
Kilis,
Gaziantep, and
Şanlıurfa provinces of
Turkey. To the east lies
Raqqa Governorate, to the south
Hama Governorate, and to the west
Idlib Governorate and Turkey's
Hatay Province. The governorate lies on a plateau known as the
Aleppo plateau. The eastern and northern boundaries of the governorate correspond roughly to the eastern and northern boundaries of the plateau, although the northeastern portion of the governorate crosses the
Euphrates valley into the
Jazīrah plateau. The southeastern end of the governorate is continuous with the arid steppe of the northern
Syrian Desert. To the south lie the eastern plains of Hama, and to the southwest lie the northern plains of Idlib. The average elevation of the terrain is . The surface gradually slopes down in north–south and west–east directions, undulating gently with an amplitude of 10–30 m for each wave. The lowlands are covered with combined
Paleozoic and
Mesozoic sediments that average 4–5 km in thickness over the whole surface. Starting from the valley of the Euphrates, the terrain rises forming the Manbij plain, and then sinks again at the
Dhahab river valley in the east of Aleppo Governorate. The Dhahab drains the highlands north of
al-Bāb and runs in a north–south direction for about until it drains into
Lake Jabbul. West of the Dhahab valley the terrain rises again forming Mount 'Aqīl (Mount Taymar) west of Bāb and Mount Ḥaṣṣ west of Lake Jabboul. The terrain sinks again forming the valley of River
Queiq. The endpoint of Quwēq, the Maṭkh swamp (), is the lowest point in Aleppo Governorate. West of the Quwēq is
Mount Simeon. South of Mount Simeon is the plains of Idlib. The
river 'Afrīn runs west of Mount Simeon. To the west of river 'Afrīn, the land rises again forming
Kurd Mountain. The highest point in the governorate, Mount Bulbul (), is located in the northern part of Mount Kurd. River 'Ifrīn runs from north to south between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd and then turns west to the Orontes valley, thus separating Kurd Mountain from
Ḥārim Mountains to the south. The governorate is generally deforested except for a dispersed forest of about on the eastern slope of Mount Kurd where it faces the plain of
A'zaz. The main trees are
Aleppo pine and
oak. Arable land makes up 66% of the total area in the governorate. The main crops are olives, figs, plums, pomegranates, vegetables, grains, rice, and pistachios. Pistachio is called in Syria
fustuq Ḥalabī (Aleppo pistachio). Rivers traditionally supported agriculture; the main rivers in Aleppo are the Quwēq, 'Ifrīn,
Sājūr, Dhahab,
Aswad, and Euphrates. However, all of these rivers arise in Turkey, and due to irrigation projects on the Turkish side of the border, the flow of these rivers dropped so much that most of them could no longer support agriculture. The Quwēq, for example, dried up completely in the 1950s. The vanishing of the rivers forced farmers to depend largely on rainfall and on water diverted from the Euphrates. A pumping station at
Maskanah (95 km east of Aleppo) provides drinking water for Aleppo from the Euphrates. Recently Euphrates water has been diverted to revive the dead Qwēq river, and thus revive agriculture in the plains south of Aleppo. Urban areas, highlands, swamps, forests, and grazing land make up 34% of the total area of the governorate. The remaining 14% is a desert area in the southeast that is continuous with the Syrian Desert and known as the Aleppo Desert (Arabic: بادية حلب). The largest lake in the governorate is
lake Sabkhat al-Jabbul, a
Ramsar salt lake located southeast of Aleppo.
Euphrates Lake (the largest lake in Syria) separates Aleppo Governorate from Raqqa Governorate. Other artificial lakes include the Lake of 17 April on the River Ifrīn and the revived Shabā Lake on River Quwēq. Archaeological sites are abundant in the governorate, especially at
Mount Simeon in the west and the plains that extend beyond towards
Antioch and
Idlib. This region, known as the
Limestone Massif, has the largest concentration of Late Antiquity churches in the world, with a unique Syrian architectural style. It also has the famous
Dead Cities of Syria.
Cities The following cities are the administrative centres of the districts in Aleppo Governorate (Population based on 2004 official census):
Districts The governorate is divided into ten
districts (
manatiq) as of 2011. The districts are further divided into 46 sub-districts (
nawahi): •
Mount Simeon District (7 sub-districts)* •
Mount Simeon Subdistrict •
Tell ad-Daman Subdistrict •
Haritan Subdistrict •
Darat Izza Subdistrict •
al-Zirbah Subdistrict •
Zammar Subdistrict •
Hadher Subdistrict •
Afrin District (7 sub-districts) •
Afrin Subdistrict •
Bulbul Subdistrict •
Jindires Subdistrict •
Rajo Subdistrict •
Sharran Subdistrict •
Shaykh al-Hadid Subdistrict •
Maabatli Subdistrict •
Atarib District (3 sub-districts)** •
Atarib Subdistrict •
Ibbin Samaan Subdistrict •
Urum al-Kubrah Subdistrict •
Ayn al-Arab District (4 sub-districts) •
Ayn al-Arab Subdistrict •
Shuyukh Tahtani Subdistrict •
Sarrin Subdistrict •
Al-Jalabiyah Subdistrict •
Azaz District (6 sub-districts) •
Azaz Subdistrict •
Akhtarin Subdistrict •
Tell Rifaat Subdistrict •
Mare' Subdistrict •
Nubl Subdistrict •
Sawran Subdistrict •
Al-Bab District (4 sub-districts) •
al-Bab Subdistrict •
Tadef Subdistrict •
al-Rai Subdistrict •
Arima Subdistrict •
Dayr Hafir District (3 sub-districts)*** •
Dayr Hafir Subdistrict •
Rasm Harmil al-Imam Subdistrict •
Kuweires Sharqi Subdistrict •
Jarabulus District (2 sub-districts) •
Jarabulus Subdistrict •
Ghandoura Subdistrict •
Manbij District (5 sub-districts) •
Manbij Subdistrict •
Abu Kahf Subdistrict •
Abu Qilqil Subdistrict •
al-Khafsah Subdistrict •
Maskanah Subdistrict •
As-Safira District (5 sub-districts) •
as-Safira Subdistrict •
Tell Aran Subdistrict •
Khanasir Subdistrict •
Banan Subdistrict •
al-Hajib Subdistrict • - includes Aleppo City • - a newly created district since 2008, formerly belonging to Mount Simeon District • - a newly created district since 2009, formerly belonging to Al-Bab District.
Climate Aleppo Governorate has a semi-arid climate. The mountain series that runs along the Mediterranean coast, namely Mount Alawites and Mount Amanus, largely block the effects of the
Mediterranean on climate (rain shadow effect). The average temperature in the governorate is . The average precipitation ranges from in the western parts of the governorate to in the easternmost parts and in the southeastern desert. 80% of precipitation occurs between October and March. Snow is usually in winter. The average humidity is 60% in the west and 55% in the east. == Economy ==