Jeita (Arabic: جعيتا Jʿītā; also spelled Jaaita or Jaita) is a town and municipality located in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The town is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) north of Beirut. It has an average elevation of 380 meters above sea level and a total land area of 290 hectares. Jeita's inhabitants are Maronites. It is well known for the Jeita Grotto which is a popular tourist attraction, as well as the Nahr al-Kalb, a river that runs from a spring near the grotto emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. The name Jeita is derived from the Aramaic word Ge’itta, meaning "roar" or "noise".