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Mount LebanonMount Lebanon is the mountain range that extends across the whole country of Lebanon about 160 km (100 mi) parallel to the Mediterranean coast and rising to 3,090 m (10,131 ft). Lebanon has historically been defined from the mountains, which have provided for protection for the local population. The snowy peaks may have given Lebanon its name in antiquity; laban is Aramaic for white. In Lebanon the change in nature is not connected to geographical distances, but to altitudes. The mountains are known for their oak and pine forests. Also, in the high slopes of Mount Lebanon are the remaining groves of the famous Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani). The Phoenicians used the forests from Mount Lebanon to build their ship fleet and to trade with their Levantine neighbours. Before the modern republic of Lebanon gained independence from France in 1943, Mount Lebanon was a semi-autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire. It gained autonomy under international pressure from European powers (mainly France and Britain) to protect their Christian minority. Maronites, the main Christian denomination in Lebanon, were a majority in Mount Lebanon until the population transfers provoked by the Lebanese Civil War. Today some Christians in Lebanon claim the right to secede from the once Christian-ruled Republic of Lebanon and form a new Maronite state called Mount Lebanon.
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