The Hula Valley is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water.

The Hula Lake (HaHula Lake) and its surrounding swamps were drained in the 1950s was as an attempt to alter the environment to suit agricultural needs. // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the height of the baby-boom from returning...

Though initially perceived as a great national achievement for the State of Israel, with time it became evident that the benefits from transforming the "wasteland" of Lake Hula and its swamps, into an agricultural fields were limited.

Hula Valley, seen from the Golan Heights

In the past few years, following nearly 50 years of an unsuccessful struggle to utilize the drained valley's resources, the State of Israel has finally recognized that successful development can endure only if a balanced compromise between nature and development is reached. Thus, a small section of the former lake and swamp region was recently reflooded in an attempt to prevent further soil deterioration and to revive the nearly extinct ecosystem.

Topography

The Hula Valley lies within the northern part of the Syrian-African Rift Valley at an elevation of about 70 metres above sea level. Northern section of the Great Rift Valley. ...

On both sides of the valley are steep slopes -- the Golan Heights to the east and the Upper Galilee mountains to the west, rise to 400 to 900 metres above sea level. Sites on the Golan in blue are Israeli settlement communities. ... Galilee (Hebrew hagalil הגליל, Arabic al-jaleel الجليل), meaning circuit, is a large area overlapping with much of the North District of Israel. ... Mount McKinley in Alaska has one of the largest visible base-to-summit elevation differences anywhere A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ...

Basaltic hills of about 200 metres above sea level along the southern side of the valley intercept the Jordan River, and are commonly referred to as the basalt "plug" (actually a temporary geologic base level), as they restrict water drainage downstream into the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). Basalt Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock, sometimes porphyritic, and is often both fine-grained and dense. ... Northern part of the Great Rift Valley as seen from space (NASA) The Jordan River today The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia flowing through the Jordan Rift Valley into the Dead Sea. ... Geology (from Greek γη- (ge-, the earth) and λογος (logos, word, reason)) is the science and study of the Earth, its composition, structure, physical properties, history, and the processes that shape it. ... The base level of a river or stream is the lowest point to which it can flow, often referred to as the mouth of the river. ... The Sea of Galilee with the Jordan River flowing out of it to the south and into the Dead Sea The Sea of Galilee is Israels largest freshwater lake, approximately 53 kilometers (33 miles) in circumference, about 21 km (13 miles) long, and 13 km (8 miles) wide; it...

The Hula Valley covers an area of 177 square kilometres (25 km 6 to 8 km).

Climate

The climate of the Hula Valley today is Mediterranean, with hot dry summers and cool rainy winters. However, the mountain-enclosed topography of the Hula Valley leads to more extreme seasonal, as well as daily, temperature fluctuations. A Mediterranean climate is one that resembles those of the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. ... Summer is a season, defined by convention in meteorology as the whole months of June, July and August in the Northern hemisphere and the whole months of December, January and February in the Southern hemisphere. ... In many parts of the world, winter is associated with snow. ... Surface of the Earth Topography, a term in geography, has come to refer to the lay of the land, or the physiogeographic characteristics of land in terms of elevation, slope, and orientation. ...

Annual rainfull varies greatly between different parts of the valley and ranges from about 400 millimetres in the south of the vally, to up to 800 millimetres in the north of the vally .

More than 1,500 millimetres of precipitation falls on the Hermon mountain range (mostly in the form of snow), feeding underground springs, including the sources of the Jordan River, all eventually flowing through the valley. Mount Hermon (top of photo) supplies the bulk of the Jordan River water Mount Hermon (Arabic: Jabalu sh-Shaykh) is a mountain in the Anti-Lebanon range, on the border between Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. ... Northern part of the Great Rift Valley as seen from space (NASA) The Jordan River today The Jordan River is a river in Southwest Asia flowing through the Jordan Rift Valley into the Dead Sea. ...

The wind regime is dominated by regional patterns in the winter, with occasional strong north-easterly wind storms (In Arabic these storms are called Sharkiyah. Arabic (العربية al-arabiyyah, or less formally arabi) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ...

The name of the valley

Lake Hula was referred to by many different names: In the 14th century BCE, the Egyptians called the lake - Samchuna. In the 1st century CE, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus termed it Semechonitis. In Aramaic the lake was called Hulata or Ulata. In the Talmud it is called Yam Sumchi - i.e. Sea of Sumchi. Currently the lake is called Buheirat el Huleh in Arabic and Agam Hula in Hebrew. Josephus, also known as Flavius Josephus (c. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Arabic (العربية al-arabiyyah, or less formally arabi) is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ...

The Waters of Merom has sometimes been used erroneously in scientific literature, although that term refers specifically to springs on the western side of the valley. A natural spring. ...

The history of the valley

Prior to its drainage in the 1950s, Lake Hula was 5.3 kilometres long and 4.4 kilometres wide, extending over 12-14 square kilometres. It was a about one and a half metres deep in summer and three metres deep in winter.

The lake attracted human settlement from early prehistoric times. Paleolithic archaeological remains were found near the Bnot Yaakov ("Daughters of Jacob") bridge at the southern end of the valley. The first permanent settlements, Enan (Mallaha), dating from 9,000-10,000 years ago was discovered in the valley. Prehistory (Greek words προ = before and ιστορία = history) is the period of human history including all previous history before humans which is prior to the advent of writing (which marks the beginning of recorded history). ... The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (Greek παλαιός paleos=old and λίθος lithos=stone or the Old Stone Age) was the first period in the development of human technology of the Stone Age. ... Importance and applicability Most of human history is not described by any written records. ...

The Hula Valley was a main junction on the important trade route connecting the large commercial centre of Damascus with the eastern Mediterranean coast and Egypt. During the Bronze Age, the cities of Hazor and Layish were built at key locations on this route approximately 4,000 years ago. At the end of the 13th century BCE, the Israelite tribe of Dan destroyed the city of Layish and built in its place a new city which they named Dan, and for about 400 years, the Israelites ruled over the Hula Valley until it was captured by the Assyrian armies of Tiglath Pileser III and its inhabitants were driven away. Damascus by night, pictured from Jabal Qasioun; the green spots are minarets Damascus (Arabic officially دمشق Dimashq, colloquially ash-Sham الشام) is the capital city of Syria and is the oldest inhabited city in the world. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Hazor - courtyyard or settlement Name of several places in ancient Israel: One of the most important Caananite towns. ... Dan can refer to one of several things: In the Bible, Dan is the name of one of the sons of Jacob (see Dan (biblical figure)), and of the tribe consisting of his descendants (see Tribe of Dan). ...

Throughout the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and early Arab periods (fourth century bce to eighth centuries CE) rural settlement in the Hula Valley was uninterrupted. Traditional crops were rice (as early as the Hellenistic period), cotton and sugar cane (Brought by the Arabs following their conquest in 636), sorghum and maize. Water buffalo were introduced in the eighth century supplying milk and serving as beasts of burden. Civilization relating to the classical Greek civilization outside of the borders of Greece. ... Ancient Rome was a civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ... Binomial name Oryza sativa L. Rice (Oryza sativa) is a species of grass in the genus Oryza, native to tropical and subtropical southeastern Asia, where it grows in wetlands. ... Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... Species Ref: ITIS 42058 as of 2004-05-05 Sugarcane is one of six species of a tall tropical southeast Asian grass (Family Poaceae) having stout fibrous jointed stalks whose sap at one time was the primary source of sugar. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ʻarab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... Events April 20 - Battle of Yarmuk - Byzantine Empire loses Syria to the Arabs The Arabs invade Persia Rothari marries queen Gundeparga, becomes king of the Lombards city of Basra Iraq founded by caliph Omar on a canal. ... Species Hybrids Sorghum, also known as jowar, (Sorghum vulgare or Sorghum bicolor) is a grass (family Poaceae) which is used for food, fodder, and the production of alcoholic beverages. ... Binomial name Zea mays L. Maize (Zea mays ssp. ... Binomial name Bubalus arnee (Kerr, 1792) The Water Buffalo is a very large ungulate. ... A glass of cows milk Milk most often means the nutrient fluid produced by the mammary glands of female mammals. ...

The first modern Jewish settlement in the Hula Valley, Yesod Hamaala on the western shore of the lake, was established in 1883 during the first aliya. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

In total, by 1948 there were 12 Jewish and 23 Arab settlements in the Hula Valley. 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Following the establishment of the State of Israel and during the 1948 War of Independence, the Arab inhabitants left the valley, moving to neighbouring Arab countries.

Numerous kibbutzim, including Kfar Blum, are in the Hula Valley. Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective community. ... Kfar Blum is a kibbutz in the Hula Valley, in the Upper Galilee region of Israel, not far from the town of Qiryat Shemona. ...

The drainage of the lake

The draining operations, carried out by the Jewish National Fund (JNF), began in 1951 and were completed by 1958. It was achieved by two main engineering operations: The deepening and widening of the Jordan River downstream; and two newly-dug peripheral canals diverting the Jordan at the north of the vally. The Jewish National Fund is a private organisation, created in 1901 at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel with the aim of purchasing land in Palestine to serve as a Jewish homeland. ...

As concern was voiced by scientists and naturalists who opposed the project because they viewed the swamps as an ecological treasure that must be preserved for future generations, a small (3.50 km²) area of papyrus swampland in the southwest of the valley was set aside and in 1963, became Israel's first nature reserve.

Lake Agmon

Lake Agmon, located in the southern part of the Hula Valley in the area that once served as the transition between Lake Hula and the surrounding swamps was created as part of the rehabilitation program of the vally. This new lake is shallower and much smaller than the original lake. It has an irregular shape, covering an area of one square kilometre with mostly less than one metre depth of water. Several smaller islands were created in the middle of the lake, to provide protected nesting sites for birds.