Draw Jordan from Memory
Test your geography knowledge by drawing Jordan from memory on a blank canvas. Shape comparison scoring is coming soon — practice Jordan's outline in the meantime.
Related Countries in Middle East
Why Jordan Looks the Way It Does
Twenty-six kilometers of Red Sea shore is the whole coastline, and the 1965 agreement with Saudi Arabia that stretched it from a few kilometers to roughly that length shows how much a single port can be worth. Aqaba, wedged between Israel and Saudi Arabia at the head of the Gulf, is the country's only sea outlet; in 1965 the Jordanian crown traded several thousand square kilometers of inland desert for the longer frontage, and the present southern outline is the shape of that swap.
The state itself is a carve-up. The Emirate of Transjordan was created in 1921 from the eastern part of the British Mandate for Palestine, after London decided that the territory east of the Jordan River, which had been exempted from the settlement provisions of the Balfour Declaration, would be ruled by Emir Abdullah separately from the west. Nothing in the resulting borders is natural: the northern line with Syria, the long straight diagonal across the desert toward Saudi Arabia, and the eastern arm reaching Iraq all follow administrative decisions made in the 1920s.
Two routes explain where the lines run. The King's Highway, the ancient trade road from Damascus to the Red Sea, runs the length of the settled west, which is why the population hugs the Jordan Valley and the plateau beside it. The Hijaz Railway, built before the First World War to carry pilgrims toward Medina, drew a line across the desert that the state then followed. In shorthand, Jordan is a desert triangle ending in one jetty's worth of water, with everything alive pressed along its western edge.
Quick Facts: Jordan
- Capital
- Amman
- Continent
- Middle East
- Bordering countries
- 5 countries — Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Palestine
- Area
- 89,342 km²
What is "Drawing Jordan from Memory"?
Drawing Jordan from memory means sketching Jordan's border on a blank canvas without looking at a map. Focus on the country's distinctive features and overall shape — that's what pushes your accuracy score up.
Jordan sits in Middle East and is rated ★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a trickier outline with more detail to remember. It connects to 5 neighboring country pages on this site. Border comparison scoring for Jordan is coming soon — the shape tips below will get your mental map sharp before it lands.
Jordan is a roughly wedge-shaped country with a broad northern block, a narrow waist in the middle, and a long southeastern extension that ends in the port of Aqaba on the Red Sea.
How to Draw Jordan from Memory
Step 01
Sketch Jordan as an arrowhead pointing south, with a broad, boxy head in the north where it borders Syria and Iraq, then a narrow waist in the middle before the land widens again into a long tail. Keep the whole shape running diagonally from the northwest down to the southeast, and the arrowhead proportions will look right from the start.
Step 02
Give the shape its defining notch: the Dead Sea sits along the western border, a deep tear in the outline that Israel shares with Jordan. Draw the western edge dropping along that rift valley, with the country bulging to the east into its desert interior, and the waist appears naturally without you forcing the indentation by hand.
Step 03
Lock the tail with the Red Sea: Jordan's only coastline is a short stretch at Aqaba on the Gulf of Aqaba, wedged between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The long, straight eastern border with Saudi Arabia runs diagonally across the desert, so draw the tail reaching that single coastal point and the whole arrowhead is anchored.
Jordan is an arrowhead pointing at the Red Sea: a broad head in the north, a slim shaft running down the middle, and a barb striking Aqaba in the southwest.
How Jordan Is Scored
When you hit Reveal & compare, your sketch is measured against Jordan's real border, point by point, in the same canvas space. Three numbers come back:
Matched — the share of the real border your drawing covered. 100% means you traced every part of the outline.
Extra — how much of your drawing fell outside the true border. This catches sketches that are too big, mispositioned, or drifting off.
Missed — the border you didn't reach, the flip side of Matched.
The three combine into a single 0–100 accuracy score. The rating names give you a target: 80+ is Cartographer, 60+ is Border patrol, 40+ is Getting there, and below 40 is Try again.
Automated scoring for Jordan is coming soon. When it ships, drawing large and centered will be the fastest way to raise your score, because a small sketch overlaps less of the true border.
FAQ
- Which countries are Jordan's neighbors?
- Jordan connects to 5 neighboring country pages on this site: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Israel, and Palestine. Once you've drawn Jordan, try a neighbor next — drawing two shapes side by side locks both into your mental map.
- How hard is it to draw Jordan from memory?
- Jordan is rated ★★★ out of 4 for drawing difficulty — a trickier outline with more detail to remember. Automated scoring is coming soon, so use the shape tips below to practice in the meantime.
- How is my Jordan drawing scored?
- Once Jordan's border data goes live, your sketch will be compared with the real border point by point. You'll get a 0–100 score built from Matched, Missed, and Extra, plus a clear overlay showing where you nailed it and where you drifted.
- Can I draw Jordan on mobile?
- Yes — Jordan works on desktop, tablet, and mobile. Draw with your finger on touchscreens; no app download is required and it runs directly in your browser.