Hills and Valleys
The land of Israel is not very long, and it is even less wide. Yet that narrow, north-south strip features fascinating topography. The coastal plain is the fertile and populated region that runs along the Mediterranean Sea. A few miles inland, the traveler encounters the central, hilly spine of the land. And then, as one moves east toward the Jordan River Valley, the descent becomes steep. If you draw an east-west line from the Mediterranean past Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, the distance would be only about 60 miles. Yet your roller coaster ride would have gone from a sea level elevation to 2500+ feet above sea level to 1300 feet below sea level.
Significant mountains along the way include: Mt. Hermon in the far north (beyond the borders of Israel); the Mt. of the Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee; Mt. Carmel jutting out into the Mediterranean opposite Galilee; Mt. Tabor (upper right) rising majestically above the plains of lower Galilee; and the Mt. of Olives just east of Jerusalem. Significant valleys include the Hinnom and Kidron Valleys on the west and east of Jerusalem, respectively; the Jezreel Valley is prominent in the lower Galilee region and in many stories of the Old Testament; and the Jordan River Valley is central to the topography of the whole region. |