Sea of Galilee

Sea of Galilee
The Sea with the Jordan River flowing out of it to the south and into the Dead Sea
Coordinates	32°50′N 35°35′E
Lake type	Monomictic
Primary sources	Jordan River
Primary outflows	Jordan River
Catchment area	2,730 km²
Basin countries	Israel
Max length	21 km
Max width	13 km
Surface area	166 km²
Average depth	25.6
Max depth	43 m
Water volume	4 km³
Residence time (of lake water)	5 years
Shore length1	53 km
Surface elevation	-209 m
1 Shore length is an imprecise measure which may not be standardized for this article.

The Sea of Galilee or Lake Kinneret (Hebrew ים כנרת), is Israel's largest freshwater lake. It is approximately 33 miles (53 km) in circumference, about 13 miles (21 km) long, and 8 miles (13 km) wide; it has a total area of 64 square miles (166 km²), and a maximum depth of approximately 43 meters. At 209 meters below sea level, it has long been thought to be the lowest freshwater lake on Earth and the second-lowest lake in the world after the Dead Sea, a saltwater lake. However, the 1996 discovery of the subglacial Lake Vostok challenges both records; it is estimated to be 200 to 600 m below sea level.

The Kinneret is fed by underground springs, but its main source is the Jordan River, which flows through it from north to south. The lake is situated deep in the Jordan Great Rift Valley, the valley caused by the separation of the African and Arabian Plates. Consequently the area is subject to earthquakes and, in the past, volcanic activity. This is evidenced by the abundant basalt and other igneous rock that define the geology of the Sea of Galilee region.

Due to its low-lying position in the rift valley, surrounded by hills, the sea is prone to sudden violent storms; hence the New Testament story about Jesus calming the storm. Indeed, the main feature of the lake seems to be its ever-changing character. It is still noted, as in New Testament times, for its rich fish stocks, and in today's restaurants, "St. Peter's Fish" (tilapia) is very popular.

Etymology

The lake often appears on maps as Lake Galilee or Lake Tiberias, while in the Old Testament, it is called the "Sea of Kinneret" (Numbers 34:11; Joshua 13:27). Following the exile of the Jews to Babylon in the 6th century B.C.E., it became known as the "Lake of Gennesaret".

The name may originate from the Hebrew word kinnor ("harp" or "lyre") in view of the shape of the lake. Christian religious texts call it Lake of Gennesaret or Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), after a small fertile plain that lies on its western side. The Arabic name for the lake is Buhairet Tabariyya (بحيرة طبريا) meaning Lake Tiberias. Other names for the Sea of Galilee are Ginnosar, Lake of Gennesar, Sea of Chinneroth and Sea of Tiberias (Roman).

History

The area surrounding the Sea of Galilee has been populated from very early times. Two miles south of the lake, at El-'Ubeidiya, lacustrine formations dating from about 400,000 to 500,000 years ago have revealed prehistoric tools and two human fragments, which are among the oldest in the Middle East. Ancient Canaanite structures have been uncovered which date to between 1,000 and 2,000 B.C.E.

Antiquity

The Sea of Galilee lies on the ancient Via Maris which linked Egypt with the northern empires. The Greeks, Hasmoneans, and Romans founded flourishing towns and settlements here: Gadara, Hippos, Tiberias and others.

The first-century historian Flavius Josephus was so impressed by the area that he wrote, "One may call this place the ambition of Nature." Josephus also reported a thriving fishing industry at the time, with 230 boats regularly working in the lake. He wrote of nine ancient cities on the lake's shores, of which only Tiberias has survived. This city, on the lake's western shore was one of four holy cities.

Kefar Nahum (Capernaum), has preserved one of the most beautiful synagogues in the region, dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries B.C.E.

The Sea of Galilee

Much of the ministry of Jesus occurred on the shores of Lake Galilee. In those days, there was a continuous ribbon development of settlements and villages around the lake and plenty of trade and ferrying by boat. The Synoptic gospels of Mark (1:14-20), Matthew (4:18-22), and Luke (5:1-11) describe how Jesus recruited four of his apostles from the shores of Lake Galilee: the fishermen Simon and his brother Andrew and the brothers John and James. One of Jesus' famous teaching episodes, the Sermon on the Mount, was given on a hill overlooking the lake. Many of his miracles were also recorded to occur here: his walking on water, calming a storm, feeding the multitude (in Tabgha), and many others.

In 135 C.E., the second Jewish revolt against the Romans, called Bar Kokhba's revolt, was put down. The Romans responded by banning all Jews from Jerusalem. The center of Jewish culture and learning shifted to the region of the Kinneret, particularly the city of Tiberias. It was in this region that the so-called "Jerusalem Talmud" was probably compiled.

In the time of the Byzantine Empire, the lake's significance in Jesus' life made it a major destination for Christian pilgrims. This led to the growth of a full-fledged tourist industry, complete with package tours and plenty of comfortable inns.

Medieval times

Fisherman in the Sea of Galilee, 1890-1900.

File:Golan heights rel89.jpg

Political map of the Sea of Galilee region in 2007.

The lake's importance declined when the Byzantines lost control of it. The area came under the control of the Umayyad Caliphate and subsequent Islamic empires. Except for Tiberias, the major towns and cities were gradually abandoned.

In the eleventh century, a sanctuary for the Druze was built near Kefar Hittim, near the western shore. This still stands.

In 1187, Saladin defeated the armies of the Crusades at the Battle of Hattin, largely because he was able to cut the Crusaders off from the valuable fresh water of the Sea of Galilee.

Modern times

In 1909 Jewish pioneers built their first cooperative farming village (kibbutz), Kvutzat Kinneret which trained Jewish immigrants in farming and agriculture. Later, Kinneret pioneers established Kibbutz Degania. Kinneret was the cradle of the Kibbutz culture of early Zionism and was the birthplace of Naomi Shemer and the burial site of Rachel - two of the most prominent Israeli poets.

In 1923 an agreement between the United Kingdom and France established the border between the British Mandate of Palestine and the French Mandate of Syria. The British handed over the southern Golan Heights to the French in return for the northern Jordan Valley. The border was re-drawn so that both sides of the Jordan river and the whole of the Sea of Galilee, including a 10-meter wide strip along the northeastern shore, were made a part of Palestine. The 1947 UN Partition Plan put this territory area inside the Jewish state.

During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Israel occupied the lake's southwestern shore. This map illustrates the border lines and the Demilitarized Zones at the time the 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed. In 1967, the State of Israel took control of the entire Sea of Galilee as well as the Golan during the Six-Day War. Syria still claims the northeastern shore of the sea, arguing it is a part of the Golan Heights, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Tourism

Today, tourism is again the Kinneret's most important economic activity. The entire Sea of Galilee is a popular holiday resort area. The many historical and spiritual sites around the lake, especially its main town Tiberias, are visited by local and foreign tourists every year. Other economic activities include fishing in the lake and agriculture, particularly bananas, in the fertile belt of land surrounding it.

A key attraction is the point at which the Kinneret's water flows into the Jordan River. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world come to be baptized there every year.

National Water Carrier

Israel's National Water Carrier, built in 1964, transports water from the lake to the population centers of Israel, and is the source of most of the country's drinking water. Israel also supplies water from the lake to the West Bank and to Jordan (under the terms of the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace). Increasing water demand and some dry winters have resulted in stress on the lake and a decreasing water line, at times to dangerously low levels.

Geography

Sunset over the Sea of Galilee.

Formation

Most of the area surrounding the Sea of Galilee is covered by basalts that have been formed since the Miocene Epoch began about 26,000,000 years ago and that are part of the vast area of Mount Duruz, located in Syria. Beginning at that time, lacustrine limestones and marls (calcareous clays) have been deposited.

East of the lake lies the east African port of the Great Rift Valley. Formed in the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 to 1.6 million years ago), it was partially filled in again by lacustrine and fluvial sediments. During the humid periods of the Quaternary Period (1.6 million years ago to the present) the Dead Sea extended to this point.

Environment

The Jordan River is the Sea's main source, though additional streams and wadis flow into it from the surrounding hills.

It is surrounded by

• the Plain of Gennesaret, which extends in a circular arc from the north to the northwest
• the Plain of Bet Zayda (Buteiha) in Syria, extending to the northeast
• the hills of Lower Galilee on the west and southwest of the lake, which drop abruptly to the lake's edge.
• the cliffs of the Plateau of Golan, which overlook the lake's mid-eastern section. This plateau rises again in the southeast approaching the valley of the Yarmuk River, a tributary of the Jordan
• the Plain of al-Ghawr is on the lake's south, though it is separated by a narrow ridge through which flows the Jordan River.

Because of a pleasant climate, level topography, fertile soil, and relatively abundant water, the rivers flowing into the lake and the adjacent plains have throughout history been the source of livelihood for various peoples.

Because of its sheltered location, low elevation, and the influence of the lake itself, the winters are mild, with temperatures averaging 57° F (14° C) in January. The absence of freezing temperatures has facilitated the cultivation of bananas, dates, citrus fruit, and vegetables. The summers are hot, with temperatures averaging 88° F (31° C), and the precipitation—almost 15 inches (380 mm) at Deganya—falls, in the course of a winter of less than 50 days, in the form of brief but violent showers.

The Sea of Galilee is fed primarily by the Jordan River. Other streams and wadis (seasonal watercourses) flow into the lake from the hills of Galilee.

The lake's fish life has an affinity with that of the eastern African lakes. Fish species to be found include damselfish, scaleless blennies, catfish, mouthbreeders, and barbels.

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The warm waters of the Sea of Galilee allow a variety of flora and fauna to thrive, which have supported a significant commercial fishery for over two millennia. Local flora includes a variety of reeds along most of the shoreline as well as Phytoplankton, fauna consists of Zooplankton, Benthos, while the fish population notably includes Tilapia (locally known as St. Peter’s Fish) . It has recently been reported that Platanistoidea have returned to the sea after nearly four decades of absence. .

Panoramic view from Amnon, North of the Sea of Galilee

Resources

• Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Galilee, Sea of Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
• Metzger, Bruce Manning, and Michael David Coogan. 2001. The Oxford guide to people & places of the Bible. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195146417
• Valdes, Guiliano. 1999. Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. Florence, Italy: Casa Editrice Bonechi. ISBN 8880290673

External links

All Links Retrieved December 10, 2007.

• World Lakes Database entry for Sea of Galilee
• Bibleplaces.com: Sea of Galilee
• Sea of Galilee photos
• Peace Mural of the Sea of Galilee in the Chapel of the Good Shephard - Ramallah

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