The Judaean Mountains are part of a more extended range that runs in a north–south direction. The ridge consists of the
Samarian Hills in its northern part, and of the Judaean Mountains in its southern part, the two segments meeting at the latitude of
Ramallah. The westward descent from the hard limestone country of the Judaean mountains towards the
coastal plain is by way of a longitudinal trough of fosse cut through chalk, followed by the low, rolling soft limestone hills of the
Shephelah, while eastwards the landscape falls steeply towards the
Jordan Rift Valley. The southern end of the mountain range is at
Beersheba in the northern part of the
Negev, where the mountains slope down into the Beersheba-
Arad valley. The average height of the Judaean Mountains is of , and they encompass the cities of Ramallah,
Jerusalem,
Bethlehem and
Hebron. The northern section of the Judaean mountains is referred to as Jerusalem Hills, and the southern one as
Hebron Hills. The Judaean Mountains were heavily forested in antiquity. The range is mostly composed of
terra rossa soils over hard
limestones. ==Geology and palaeontology==