Lajat

Also known as Trachonitis

thumb|right|Trachonitis on map from Encyclopaedia Biblica (1903)

Key facts

Landform.name: Lajat
Landform.other_name: Al-Lajaʾ, Trachonitis, Argob, Argov
Landform.type: -->
Landform.image: Lajat, Syria2.jpg
Landform.image_size: 300
Landform.caption: The landscape of the Lajat (pictured) largely consists of gray, volcanic rock with scattered patches of arable land
Landform.pushpin_map: Syria
Landform.map_caption: Location of the Lajat in Syria
Landform.pushpin_relief: yes
Landform.location: Daraa Governorate and as-Suwayda Governorate, Syria
Landform.part_of: the Hauran
Landform.elevation_m: 600–700

~18 min read

Article

19 sections

Contents

Etymology
Geography
Topography
Water sources
History
Antiquity
Early history
Roman period
Byzantine period
Middle Ages
Ottoman period
Modern period
Biblical references
Population
Populated places in the Lajat
Maps
References
Bibliography
External links

thumb|right|Trachonitis on map from Encyclopaedia Biblica (1903)

The Lajat (/ALA-LC: al-Lajāʾ), also spelled Lejat, Lajah, el-Leja or Laja, is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Hauran plain to the west and the foothills of Jabal al-Druze to the south. The average elevation is between 600 and 700 meters above sea level, with the highest volcanic cone being 1,159 meters above sea level. Receiving little annual rainfall, the Lajat is largely barren, though there are scattered patches of arable land in some of its depressions.