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The
hill country comprises the eastern edge of the Rift Valley,
reaching heights of over 1500 meters. Here there is the most
rainfall and consequently the densest vegetation and therefore
where there has always been the most human activity. The
favorable Mediterranean climate and fertile land means the
hill country has been continuously cultivated since the
beginnings of agriculture some 9000 years ago and even today
it provides much of Jordan’s agricultural requirements. As
well as the ploughed fields there are areas of Pine, Oak and
Juniper forests and more open scrubby places. In the spring
the countryside is transformed, taking on a mantle of rich
green with unimaginable numbers of brilliantly colored wild
flowers carpeting the hillsides. These hills provide many
habitats for resident and breeding birds.
From
the hills the land slopes gently downhill eastwards through
steppe vegetation to the eastern deserts that stretch out into
Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. This is a vast area of
semi-arid desert, of black basalt and flint in the north and
of sand and sandstone in the south. There is only one oasis in
this whole region, Azraq, where the large winter lake attracts
many species of migratory birds. It is one of the major
stop-overs for birds moving between Eurasia and Africa and the
pools also attract the local wildlife such as hyenas, jackals,
foxes etc.
Out
in the desert one can see plants adapted to their harsh
environment and a surprising variety of small creatures and
insects and birds.
Everywhere
the underlying geology affects the life that develops on the
surface resulting in some unique breeding habitats and
adaptations, such as the Sinai Rosefinch that blends into its
breeding grounds on the red sandstone's of the south and the
black Morph of the Mourning Wheatear that lives in the black
basalt desert of the east.
There
is still very little published on the birds of Jordan, but
from recent figures it is known that about 154 species breed
here and a further 220 are migrants or winter visitors.
As
for the Flora, Jordan has about 2500 species, which are about
10% of the whole flora of the Mediterranean basin.
The
weather in Jordan in early-mid April is likely to be
changeable with some warm sunny days and some cold rainy days.
Nights are cool to cold.
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