River Jordan

River Jordan (Hebrew, Yarden, Arabic, al-Urdunn), river in south-west Asia, rising on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon in the Anti-Lebanon mountains. The Jordan river flows south through the freshwater Lake Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee), and from there forms the boundary with the Kingdom of Jordan for much of its route, eventually emptying into the Dead Sea. Some of its course is in the West Bank, whose status is currently under negotiation between Israel and the Palestinians. The northern tributaries to the Jordan are the Dan, Banias, and Hasbani. Only the Dan is within Israel; the Hasbani flows from Lebanon and the Banias from territory which Israel captured from Syria in the Six-Day War in 1967.

The Jordan is frequently referred to in the Bible, including a mention in the New Testament as the site of the baptism of Jesus Christ. Despite its biblical prominence, the Jordan is not a major river in terms of volume. Its total length is about 320 km (200 mi), and, with the exception of small pockets of rapids or during seasonal floods, it is generally shallow, narrow, and slow. Between Lake Tiberias and the Dead Sea, the Jordan's valley is called the Ghawr (Ghor) Valley; this section is about 105 km (65 mi) long. The river, its valley, and the two seas lie within the Great Rift Valley, a depression extending from Syria to Mozambique in south-eastern Africa. The Jordan descends several thousand feet from its source to the Dead Sea, which is at 395 m (1,296 ft) below sea level. Most of the river's course is below sea level.

In an arid region such as the Middle East, even the small amount of water carried by the Jordan can be of great significance. Thus, for Israel, the Jordan is the major source of the state's only surface water supply. The Jordan feeds Lake Tiberias, which provides over half of Israel's fresh water. Pipelines divert water from the Lake into the National Water Carrier, which brings water to Israeli cities and provides for agricultural use in the interior as well as in the Negev Desert. Saline springs that used to flow into Lake Tiberias and increase its salinity have been diverted and they now flow into the Jordan south of the lake. Baptismal facilities have been constructed for Christian pilgrims where the Jordan flows out of the lake, a spot considered holy.

The water of the Yarmūk river, which rises in Syria and is part of the Israeli-Syrian and then Israeli-Jordanian border, contributes to the renewed flow of the Jordan south of Lake Tiberias. The Jordanians rely on water drawn from the Yarmūk for the irrigation canal of their East Ghor project, which parallels the Jordan. In addition to climatic limitations on development, the conflict between Israel and Jordan has limited economic growth in the area. Until the peace treaty signed by the two countries in 1995 the Jordan river was a hostile border, bracketed by fences, minefields, and electronic surveillance. Access to the river was thus restricted, and stretches of land along both banks were closed to civilian activity. In recent years improving relations have allowed farming up to the river's edge, and the Jordan has become an increasingly peaceful boundary. Even during difficult periods the bridges between the West Bank and Jordan remained open to Palestinian traffic.

The economic growth accompanying the peace process is exacerbating the water scarcity issues faced by all parties in the region. As Palestinian agriculture emerges from the limitations imposed by Israel there will be increasing competition for the water of the Jordan. Already the diversions from Lake Tiberias by Israel and from the Yarmūk by Jordan have diminished the river's volume. This in turn has decreased the flow into the Dead Sea, which depends on the Jordan to replenish the vast quantity of water lost through evaporation. The future of the Jordan and the best use of its water will be intensely debated as the peace process moves forward. Future agreements will therefore constitute only the latest chapter in the long history of the Jordan, whose fame far exceeds its size.