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Mesopotamia covers the land between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, both of which have their headwaters in the Taurus Mountains. Overland routes in Mesopotamia generally follow the Euphrates because the Tigris's banks are often steep and difficult. The region's climate is semi-arid, with a vast desert expanse in the north giving way to a 15,000-square-kilometer region of swamps, lagoons, marshes, and reed beds in the south.