Introduction to the Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights (Bashan), Hulah Valley and Mount Hermon. Includes aerial drone footage of biblical locations.

Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwaterlake. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world (after the Dead Sea), at levels between 215 metres (705 ft) and 209 metres (686 ft) below sea level. It is approximately 53 km (33 mi) in circumference, about 21 km (13 mi) long, and 13 km (8.1 mi) wide. Its area is 166.7 km² (64.4 sq mi) at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 metres (141 ft). The lake is fed partly by underground springs but its main source is the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south and exits the lake at the Degania Dam.

Sea of Galilee – Aerial View

The Trail Around the Sea of Galilee (Shvil Sovev Kinneret)

Hulah Valley

The Hulah Valley is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hulah, prior to its draining. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Syrian-African Rift Valley between Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Lake Hulah and the marshland surrounding it were a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying malaria, and so were drained in the 1950s. A small section of the valley was later re-flooded in an attempt to revive a nearly extinct ecosystem. An estimated 500 million migrating birds now pass through the Hulah Valley every year.^[

Golan Heights

The Golan Heights is a region in the Levant, spanning about 1,800 square kilometers (690 sq mi). The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between disciplines: as a geological and biogeographical region, the Golan Heights refers to a basaltic plateau bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hulah Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon with Mount Hermon in the north and Wadi Raqqad in the east.

The Golan Magic

Bashan

Bashan is a term for the northernmost region of the Transjordan, which is located in what is today known as Syria. The Bible first mentions it in Numbers 21:33, where Og the King of Bashan came out against the Israelites at the time of their entrance into the Promised Land, but was vanquished in battle (Numbers 21:33–35; Deuteronomy 3:1–7). Along with the half of Gilead it was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 13:29–31). According to the book of Joshua, Golan, one of its cities, became a Levitical city and a city of refuge (Joshua 21:27).

Mount Hermon

Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range. Its summit straddles the border between Syria and Lebanon and, at 2,814 m (9,232 ft) above sea level, is the highest point in Syria. The southern slopes of Mount Hermon extend to the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights, where the Mount Hermon ski resort is located with a top elevation of 2,040 metres (6,690 ft). A peak in this area rising to 2,236 m (7,336 ft) is the highest elevation in Israeli-controlled territory.

Hermon National Park (Banias)

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