From the north, Turkey is borders Iraq from the north, Iran on the east, the Persian Gulf on the southeast, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on the south, and Jordan and Syria on the west with an area of 168,928 square miles (437,522 square kilometers). The Great Zab River flows into Iraq from Turkey and eventually merges with the Tigris 30 miles (48 kilometers) southeast of Mosul. Consists primarily of lowlands that seldom exceed 1,000 feet (300 meters) in elevation.

The hills in northeastern Iraq rise into the Zagros Mountains, which extend along the border with Iran and reach an elevation of 12,001 feet (3,658 meters) at Rawanduz. To the south and southwest, Iraq shares desert steppe with Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.

Part of the Syrian Desert extends into the country in the northwest. A region unique to Iraq is the marshy lowlands that surround the Shatt al Arab waterway and the union of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers just below Al Qurna. Palm trees and reed marshes cover the land here.

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