Jordan River – Research Report

8/14/2019 Jordan River Research Report

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2007

ISM

By Firas A.

07.03.2007

Jordan River Research Report


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Firas A. ISM IB2 A 06/07

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(Jordan River) Research Report

Before the Jordan River flows into the Dead Sea it flows through the Great Rift Valley.Located in southwest Asia the Jordan River is regarded to be one of the most sacred rivers

worldwide. However, the exact context and meaning of the ambiguous word sacred is not

established yet.

The Jordan has been measured to be 251 km long. The four tributaries listed below merge

and finally form the Jordan in the northern part of Israel.1

1. The Hasbani, flowing from Lebanon.2. The Banias, from Mount Hermon.3. The Dan, from Mount Hermon.4. The Ayoun, from Lebanon.

In a 73 km run the Jordan River drops to swampy Lake Hula, which is slightly below sea

level in the Galilee Sea. In the last section of the Jordan River a remarkable decline in the

gradient can be noticed. Before it enters the Dead Sea it meanders significantly, as seen on

the map on page 6 and two major tributaries enter from the east: Jabbok River and the

Yarmouk River. The Dead Sea is around 400 meters below sea level. It should be mentioned

that one of its properties is the absence of an outlet.

Annual discharge of the headwater rivers of the upper Jordan

River Riparian states Flow (million m)

Mean Range

Dan Israel 245 173-285

Hasbani Lebanon 138 52-236

Banias Syria/Israel 121 63-190

TOTAL 504 298 - 711

1Please note: for the sake of clarity very clear and detailed maps of the Jordan River Basin have been included in the last pages.


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The section of the Jordan River which is north of the Lake of Tiberias (Sea of Galilee) is

within the boundaries of Syria. However, these boundaries are disputed by Israel. The

border between the Kingdom of Jordan (to the east) and the West Bank (to the west) is

formed by the south of the lake.

In 1964 Israel began operating a dam that diverts water from the Sea of Galilee, a major

Jordan River water provider, to the national water carrier, according to Hillel Glassmam, a

stream expert at Israel's Parks Authority. Also in 1964Jordan constructed a channel that

diverted water from the Yarmouk River, another main tributary of the Jordan River. This

and other actions taken by Israel, resulted in great damage to the ecosystem. Syria has also

built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters. In a year, the Yarmouk's flow into the

Jordan River will diminish significantly, once Syria and Jordan begin operating a dam they

jointly built, he added. Environmentalists blame Israel, Jordan and Syria. The three countries

replenished the river with sewage water, agricultural runoff and salt water, Glassman said.2

Summing up the above mentioned water projects:

The freshwater foliage that once flourished along the river's banks has been replaced with

saline vegetation. Thus one can say that there is a main problem with regards to water

scarcity. The following table gives a nice overview and future projections: 3

2Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_river

3 Source: http://www.greencrossinternational.net/GreenCrossPrograms/waterres/pdf/WFP_Jordan.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarmouk_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yarmouk_Riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1964


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might cut their water supply, which is one of the main reasons why Israel is not returning

the occupied Golan Heights to Syria.

Please note: for the sake of clarity very clear and detailed maps of the Jordan River Basinhave been included in the following pages.

In the picture above it is clearly visible how the increased extraction of water and high temperatures affect the Jordan

River. More economic growth and growing populations will also increase the need of water from Sea of Galilee.

Therefore, the Jordan River is expected to carry even less water in the future, with the drastic consequences this will

have on the Dead Sea.


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The map below is the same as on the previous page, but zoomed in to the area that

matters: the Jordan River Basin.


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1000 WordsSources:

http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htmhttp://www.ppl.nl/bibliographies/all/?bibliography=water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_river

http://maps.google.com/

http://www.iwrm-smart.org/

http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htm
http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htmhttp://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htmhttp://www.ppl.nl/bibliographies/all/?bibliography=waterhttp://www.ppl.nl/bibliographies/all/?bibliography=waterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_riverhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_riverhttp://maps.google.com/http://maps.google.com/http://www.iwrm-smart.org/http://www.iwrm-smart.org/http://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htmhttp://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htmhttp://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htmhttp://www.iwrm-smart.org/http://maps.google.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_riverhttp://www.ppl.nl/bibliographies/all/?bibliography=waterhttp://www.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/80858e/80858E06.htm

Documents

Jordan River – Research Report