Jordan Rift Valley: Difference between revisions
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[[File:Satellite image of Israel in January 2003.jpg|thumb|right|A 2003 satellite image of the region showing the Jordan Rift Valley]] |
[[File:Satellite image of Israel in January 2003.jpg|thumb|right|A 2003 satellite image of the region showing the Jordan Rift Valley]] |
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The '''Jordan Rift Valley''' ({{lang-ar|الغور}} ''Al-Ghor'' or ''Al-Ghawr''; {{lang-he-n|בִּקְעָת הַיַרְדֵּן}} ''Bik'at HaYarden''{{dubious|In administrative and common language, this is the name for just one part of the Jordan Valley, namely the West Bank bit, so hardly for the entire Jordan RIFT Valley. Unless there's a different use in geological parlance, please amend.|date=March 2015}}) is an elongated [[Depression (geology)|depression]] located in modern-day [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], and [[ |
The '''Jordan Rift Valley''' ({{lang-ar|الغور}} ''Al-Ghor'' or ''Al-Ghawr''; {{lang-he-n|בִּקְעָת הַיַרְדֵּן}} ''Bik'at HaYarden''{{dubious|In administrative and common language, this is the name for just one part of the Jordan Valley, namely the West Bank bit, so hardly for the entire Jordan RIFT Valley. Unless there's a different use in geological parlance, please amend.|date=March 2015}}) is an elongated [[Depression (geology)|depression]] located in modern-day [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], and the [[West Bank]]. This geographic region includes the entire length of the [[Jordan River]] – from its sources, through the [[Hula Valley]], the Korazim block, the [[Sea of Galilee]], the [[Jordan Valley (Middle East)|(Lower) Jordan Valley]], all the way to the [[Dead Sea]], the lowest land elevation on Earth – and then continues through the [[Arabah]] depression, the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] whose shorelines it incorporates, until finally reaching the [[Red Sea]]. |
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==History and physical features== |
==History and physical features== |
Revision as of 17:34, 13 March 2016
- This article is about the geological rift valley, see Jordan Valley (Middle East) for cultural/geographical content.
The Jordan Rift Valley (Arabic: الغور Al-Ghor or Al-Ghawr; Template:Lang-he-n Bik'at HaYarden[dubious ]) is an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank. This geographic region includes the entire length of the Jordan River – from its sources, through the Hula Valley, the Korazim block, the Sea of Galilee, the (Lower) Jordan Valley, all the way to the Dead Sea, the lowest land elevation on Earth – and then continues through the Arabah depression, the Gulf of Aqaba whose shorelines it incorporates, until finally reaching the Red Sea.
History and physical features
The Jordan Rift Valley was formed many millions of years ago in the Miocene epoch (23.8 - 5.3 Myr ago) when the Arabian Plate moved northward and then eastward away from Africa. One million years later, the land between the Mediterranean and the Jordan Rift Valley rose so that the sea water stopped flooding the area.
The geological and environmental evolution of the valley since its inception in the Oligocene can be seen in a variety of sedimentary and magmatic rock units, preserved as continuous sequences in the deeper basins. The outcropping formations around the basins represent alternating deposition and erosion phases.[1]
The lowest point in the Jordan Rift Valley is in the Dead Sea, the lowest spot of which is 790 metres below sea level. The shore of the Dead Sea is the lowest land on earth, at 400 meters (about 1300 feet) below sea level. Rising sharply to almost 1,000 meters (almost 3,300 feet) in the west, and similarly in the east, the rift is a significant topographic feature over which a few narrow paved roads and difficult mountain tracks lead.[2] The valley north of the Dead Sea has long been a site of agriculture because of water available from the Jordan River and numerous springs located on the valley's flanks.
Dead Sea Transform
The plate boundary which extends through the valley is variously called the Dead Sea Transform (DST) or Dead Sea Rift. The boundary separates the Arabian Plate from the African Plate, connecting the divergent plate boundary in the Red Sea (the Red Sea Rift) to the East Anatolian Fault in Turkey.[3]
The DST fault system is generally considered to be a transform fault that has accommodated a 105-km-northwards displacement of the Arabian Plate.[4][5] This interpretation is based on observation of offset markers, such as river terraces, gullies and archaeological features, giving horizontal slip rates of several mm per year over the last few million years.[6] GPS data give similar rates of present-day movement of the Arabian Plate relative to the Africa Plate.[7] It has also been proposed that the fault zone is a rift system that is an incipient oceanic spreading center, the northern extension of the Red Sea Rift.[8]
Climate
Climate data for Dead Sea | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 26.4 (79.5) |
30.4 (86.7) |
33.8 (92.8) |
42.5 (108.5) |
45.0 (113.0) |
46.4 (115.5) |
47.0 (116.6) |
44.5 (112.1) |
43.6 (110.5) |
40.0 (104.0) |
35.0 (95.0) |
28.5 (83.3) |
47.0 (116.6) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.5 (68.9) |
21.7 (71.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
29.9 (85.8) |
34.1 (93.4) |
37.6 (99.7) |
39.7 (103.5) |
39.0 (102.2) |
36.5 (97.7) |
32.4 (90.3) |
26.9 (80.4) |
21.7 (71.1) |
30.4 (86.7) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.6 (61.9) |
17.7 (63.9) |
20.8 (69.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
29.4 (84.9) |
32.6 (90.7) |
34.7 (94.5) |
34.5 (94.1) |
32.4 (90.3) |
28.6 (83.5) |
23.1 (73.6) |
17.9 (64.2) |
26.1 (79.0) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.7 (54.9) |
13.7 (56.7) |
16.7 (62.1) |
20.9 (69.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
29.6 (85.3) |
29.9 (85.8) |
28.3 (82.9) |
24.7 (76.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
14.1 (57.4) |
21.9 (71.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) |
6.0 (42.8) |
8.0 (46.4) |
11.5 (52.7) |
19.0 (66.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
26.0 (78.8) |
26.8 (80.2) |
24.2 (75.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
9.8 (49.6) |
6.0 (42.8) |
5.4 (41.7) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 7.8 (0.31) |
9.0 (0.35) |
7.6 (0.30) |
4.3 (0.17) |
0.2 (0.01) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
1.2 (0.05) |
3.5 (0.14) |
8.3 (0.33) |
41.9 (1.65) |
Average precipitation days | 3.3 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.8 | 15.6 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 41 | 38 | 33 | 27 | 24 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 31 | 33 | 36 | 41 | 32 |
Source: Israel Meteorological Service[9] |
Climate data for Gilgal (-255m) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 28.0 (82.4) |
33.5 (92.3) |
40.5 (104.9) |
44.7 (112.5) |
46.5 (115.7) |
47.5 (117.5) |
48.1 (118.6) |
49.0 (120.2) |
45.7 (114.3) |
44.2 (111.6) |
37.9 (100.2) |
32.5 (90.5) |
49.0 (120.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 20.1 (68.2) |
21.6 (70.9) |
25.6 (78.1) |
30.3 (86.5) |
35.6 (96.1) |
38.7 (101.7) |
40.4 (104.7) |
40.0 (104.0) |
37.7 (99.9) |
33.8 (92.8) |
27.7 (81.9) |
22.1 (71.8) |
31.1 (88.1) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) |
15.5 (59.9) |
18.7 (65.7) |
22.8 (73.0) |
27.3 (81.1) |
30.5 (86.9) |
32.4 (90.3) |
32.5 (90.5) |
30.5 (86.9) |
26.9 (80.4) |
21.1 (70.0) |
16.4 (61.5) |
24.1 (75.4) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) |
9.4 (48.9) |
11.8 (53.2) |
15.3 (59.5) |
19.1 (66.4) |
22.3 (72.1) |
24.5 (76.1) |
25.0 (77.0) |
23.2 (73.8) |
19.9 (67.8) |
14.4 (57.9) |
10.6 (51.1) |
17.0 (62.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.0 (32.0) |
2.5 (36.5) |
3.0 (37.4) |
11.2 (52.2) |
15.2 (59.4) |
20.0 (68.0) |
19.5 (67.1) |
14.0 (57.2) |
12.1 (53.8) |
4.6 (40.3) |
0.2 (32.4) |
0.0 (32.0) |
Source: Israel Meteorological Service[10] |
See also
References
- ^ The Jordan Rift Valley, Tel Aviv University
- ^ David Eshel (3 May 2006). "Increasing Importance of the Jordan Rift Buffer". Defense Update.
- ^ The Geophysical Institute
- ^ Freund R., Garfunkel Z., Zak I., Goldberg M., Weissbrod T., Derin B., Bender F., Wellings F.E. & Girdler R.W. (1970). "The Shear along the Dead Sea Rift (and Discussion)". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. 267 (1181). doi:10.1098/rsta.1970.0027.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Joffe S. & Garfunkel Z. (1987). "Plate kinematics of the circum Red Sea—a re-evaluation". Tectonophysics. 141 (1–3): 5–22. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(87)90171-5.
- ^ Begin Z.B. & Steinitz G. (2005). "Temporal and spatial variations of microearthquake activity along the Dead Sea Fault, 1984–2004" (PDF). Israel Journal of Earth Sciences. 54: 1–14. doi:10.1560/QTVW-HY1E-7XNU-JCLJ.
- ^ Gomez, F., Karam, G., Khawlie, M., McClusky S., Vernant P., Reilinger R., Jaafar R., Tabet C., Khair K., and Barazangi M (2007). "Global Positioning System measurements of strain accumulation and slip transfer through the restraining bend along the Dead Sea fault system in Lebanon" (PDF). Geophysical Journal International. 168 (3): 1021–1028. Bibcode:2007GeoJI.168.1021G. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.03328.x.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Mart Y., Ryan W.B.F. & Lunina O.V. (2005). "Review of the tectonics of the Levant Rift system: the structural significance of oblique continental breakup". Tectonophysics. 395 (3–4): 209–232. doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2004.09.007.
- ^ "Averages and Records for several places in Israel". Israel Meteorological Service. June 2011.
- ^ "Averages and Records for several places in Israel" (PDF). Israel Meteorological Service. January 2016.
32°19′02″N 35°34′12″E / 32.31722°N 35.57000°E
External links
- Great Rift Valley
- Jordan River basin
- Landforms of the Middle East
- Rift valleys
- Valleys of Asia
- Valleys of Israel
- Landforms of Jordan
- Landforms of the Palestinian territories
- Landforms of the West Bank
- Dead Sea
- Geography of Palestine
- Landforms of Western Asia
- Regions of Israel
- Southern Levant
- Cenozoic Asia
- Cenozoic rifts and grabens