The Jordan Valley

The River Jordan rises near Mt. Hermon and flows south through Lake Huleh (now largely drained) and into the Sea of Galilee. At the southern end of the Sea it enters a deep valley known as the Ghor. Not only is the valley itself steep-sided but the river has cut into the floor and has created a winding, cliff-lined 'valley within a valley', filled with dense, jungle-like vegetation. This made crossing the river very difficult before the first modern bridges were built.

The Jordan Valley is a geological rift. The sides follow parallel faults in the earth's crust. These faults carry on the line of the valley down to the Dead Sea and beyond it, through the depression known as the Arabah, which eventually leads to the Gulf of Aqaba. The faults are the reason why the valley is so deep. The shore of the Dead Sea is 1,270 feet below sea level. The distance from the mountain rim on one side of the valley to that on the other is 9-12 miles. But no major road follows the valley. One reason for this is the broken and difficult ground created by the Jordan and it tributaries. Another is the fact that inside the Ghor, the summer temperatures are so high that travellers are glad to cross as quickly as they can from the heights on one side to the heights on the other.

Central highlands
The Plain of Esdraelon
Galilee
The coastal plain
The 'Shephelah' or Piedmont
The Jordan Valley
The land east of the Jordan (Transjordan)

Structures of the Land Climate of the Land Vegetation of the Land Resources of the Land Regions of the Land