Jordan
Jordan is a mapped river in the YearMaps hydrographic index. River courses organise settlement, agriculture and frontier-making more durably than any political boundary, and this reach is indexed against the dams, lakes and cities within its catchment.
- Feature Class
- River
- Coordinates
- 32.41°, 35.56°
About Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan (Arabic: نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, Nahr al-ʾUrdunn; Hebrew: נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, Nəhar hayYardēn), also known as Nahr Al-Sharieat (Arabic: نهر الشريعة), is a 251-kilometre-long (156 mi) endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead Sea. The river passes by or through Jordan, Syria, Israel, and Palestine.
Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights border the river to the east, while Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank lie to its west. Both Jordan and the West Bank derive their names in relation to the river. The river holds major significance in Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. According to the Bible, the Israelites crossed it into the Promised Land and Jesus of Nazareth was baptized by John the Baptist in it. Some of the companions of Muhammad are thought to have been buried along its banks.
Encyclopedic summary adapted from Wikipedia: Jordan River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Jordan in Depth
Geography
The Dan and Hasbani rivers merge near the kibbutz Sde Nehemia in northern Israel and become the Jordan River. The Hasbani (Arabic: الحاصباني Hasbani, Hebrew: either שניר Snir or Hatzbani) is a stream which flows from the north-western foot of Mount Hermon in Lebanon, with a flow of 118 million m3 annually. The Iyyon (Hebrew: עיון Iyyon, Arabic name: Ajoun stream, but دردره Dardara for the uppermost course and براغيث Bareighith or Beregeith for the rest of its course) is a stream which flows from Merj 'Ayun area in southern Lebanon into the Hasbani.
The Dan (Arabic: اللدان Leddan or Liddan, Hebrew: דן Dan) is the largest among the Jordan's upper course tributaries with c. 240-252 million cubic metres per year.
History
In the 19th century the River Jordan and the Dead Sea were explored by boat primarily by Christopher Costigan in 1835, Thomas Howard Molyneux in 1847, William Francis Lynch in 1848, and John MacGregor in 1869. The full text of W. F. Lynch's 1849 book Narrative of the United States' Expedition to the River Jordan and the Dead Sea is available online.
In 1964, Israel began operating a pumping station that diverts water from the Sea of Galilee to the National Water Carrier. Also in 1964, Jordan constructed a channel that diverted water from the Yarmouk to the East Ghor Canal. Syria has also built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters. Environmentalists blame Israel, Jordan and Syria for extensive damage to the Jordan River ecosystem.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Jordan River (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Major River Dossiers
Hand-written studies of the great river systems of history.
Connected Reaches
Nearby watercourses in the same drainage network.
Water Bodies in the Catchment
Settlements Along the Reach
Hydraulic Infrastructure Nearby
Surrounding Terrain
Jordan: Quick Answers
- Where is Jordan?
- Jordan is located in Israel and Jordan and Palestine and Lebanon, at 32.4141° N, 35.5586° E.
- Are there dams on the Jordan?
- No dam on the Jordan is recorded in the YearMaps dam index, which covers major structures only.