Jordan River (Hebrew: נהר הירדן, Nahar ha-Yarden Arabic: نهر الأردن, Nahr al-Urdun) |
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River | |
Jordan River
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Name origin: Hebrew: ירדן (yardén, descender) < ירד (yarad, to descend) | |
Country | Israel, Palestine, Jordan |
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Regions | Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean littoral |
District | Galilee |
Tributaries | |
- left | Banias River, Dan River, Yarmouk River, Zarqa River |
- right | Hasbani or Snir River (Lebanon and Israel), Iyyon Stream (Lebanon and Israel) |
Landmarks | Sea of Galilee, Baptismal site, Dead Sea |
Source | |
- location | Anti-Lebanon Mountain Range at Mount Hermon, Golan Heights |
- elevation | 2,814 m (9,232 ft) |
Mouth | Dead Sea |
- elevation | −416 m (−1,365 ft) |
Length | 251 km (156 mi) |
The Jordan River runs along the border between the Palestinian West Bank, Kingdom of Jordan and Israel
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Al-Maghtas | |
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Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
Al-Maghtas ruins on the Jordanian side of the Jordan River are the location for the Baptism of Jesus and the ministry of John the Baptist.
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Location | Balqa Governorate, Jordan |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | iii, vi |
Reference | 1446 |
UNESCO region | Arab States |
Inscription history | |
Inscription | 2015 (39th Session) |
The Jordan River (also River Jordan; Hebrew: נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן Nahar ha-Yarden; Arabic: نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ Nahr al-Urdun, Ancient Greek: Ιορδάνης, Iordànes) is a 251-kilometre (156 mi)-long river in the Middle East that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and on to the Dead Sea. Israel and the West Bank border the river to the west, while the Golan Heights and Jordan lie to its east. Both Jordan and the West Bank take their names from the river.
The river has a major significance in Judaism and Christianity and, to a more moderate degree, Islam, as the site where the Israelites crossed into the Promised Land and where Jesus of Nazareth was baptised by John the Baptist.
The Jordan River has an upper course (from its sources to the Sea of Galilee) and a lower one (beyond the Sea of Galilee and down to the Dead Sea). In traditional terminology, the upper course (or most of it) is commonly referred to as passing through the "Hula Valley", and not the "upper Jordan Valley"; the Sea of Galilee through which the river passes is a separate entity; and the term Jordan Valley is reserved for the lower course. In this sense, the (actually in its entirety "lower") Jordan Valley may be separated into upper, central and lower Jordan Valley.