The coastal area of the southern Levant , large in the south and becoming short to the north , the southernmost part has a zone of foothills , the Shephalah ; like the plain this area narrows as it goes northwards , ending at Mount Carmel . The coastal plain of the southern Levant , broad in the south and narrowing to the north , is backed in its southernmost portion by a zone of foothills , the Shephalah ; like the plain this narrows as it goes northwards , ending in the promontory of Mount Carmel .