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32-674: The people of the Ata'ta (or Al Atata In Arabic (العطاعطة أو العطاطة)) tribe are the native inhabitants of Dana Biosphere Reserve. Their history in Dana dates 400 years, with human settlement in the area dating back more than 6000 years. Besides the presence of the Ata'ta people, archeological discoveries suggest Palaeolithic, Egyptian, Nabataean, and Roman settlement in Dana. Visitors to Dana Nature Reserve and Dana village can stay at Dana Cooperative Hotel and other accommodations. Dana Biosphere Reserve drops from an altitude of 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) on

64-804: A 60,000 ha (150,000-acre) tract of the southern Arava Valley, from Yotvata in the north to the Gulf of Aqaba in the south, including the western (Israeli) half of the valley floor and the ridge of the Eilat Mountains , has also been recognised as an IBA, with additional significant species being Lichtenstein's sandgrouse , grey herons , great white pelicans , slender-billed curlews , marsh sandpipers , black-winged pratincoles , white-eyed gulls , white-winged terns , pallid scops owls , European honey buzzards , Egyptian vultures , eastern imperial eagles , lesser kestrels , lanner falcons , Arabian larks , Sinai rosefinches and cinereous buntings . On

96-425: A future earthquake along a 110 km (68 mi) × 20 km (12 mi) fault area. Such an event would suggest an earthquake of M w   7.4, posing a great seismic threat to the region. In late 2020, researchers at Tel Aviv University said that an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 is expected to occur in the area, resulting in many fatalities. Researchers also stated that the frequency of large earthquakes in

128-727: A population of 6,775. Five major Bedouin tribes comprise eight settlements on the Jordanian side: Al-S'eediyeen ( السعيديين ), Al-Ihewat ( الإحيوات ), Al-Ammareen/Amareen ( العمارين ; see also Palestinian Bedouin ), Al-Rashaideh/Rashaydeh ( الرشايدة ; see also Palestinian Bedouin ), and Al-Azazmeh ( العزازمة ), as well as smaller tribes of the Al-Oseifat ( العصيفات ), Al-Rawajfeh ( الرواجفة ), Al-Manaja'h ( المناجعة ), and Al-Marzaqa ( المرزقة ), among others. The main economic activities for these Arabah residents revolve around herding sheep, agriculture, handicrafts, and serving in

160-583: Is a list of Israeli localities in the Arava, from north to south. They belong to one city council , Eilat, and three regional councils : Tamar (a), Central Arava (b), and Hevel Eilot (c), all part of the Southern District . The total Jordanian population in the region is 103,000, of whom 96,000 live in Aqaba (95,048 as of 2021). In 2004, the Jordanian administrative district of Wadi Araba had

192-583: Is a loosely defined geographic area in the Negev Desert , south of the Dead Sea basin , which forms part of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. The old meaning, which was in use up to around the early 20th century, covered almost the entire length of what today is called the Jordan Rift Valley , running in a north–south orientation between the southern end of

224-513: Is based on observation of offset markers, such as river terraces, gullies and archaeological features, giving horizontal slip rates of several mm per year over the last few million years. GPS data give similar rates of present-day movement of the Arabian plate relative to the Africa plate. It has also been proposed that the fault zone is a rift system that is an incipient oceanic spreading center,

256-584: Is believed to be from two distinct volcanic eruptions: the first dating back to somewhere between the Miocene and Pleistocene , while the second is a highly recent eruption of the nearby Jabal al-Qadisiyah. The diverse environment of Dana is home to 703 plant species, 215 species of birds , and 38 species of mammals . Dana is the most diverse area of plant life in the country, consisting of numerous vegetation types including: Phoenician juniper , evergreen oak , sand dunes, acacia , and rocky sudanian . Dana

288-628: Is reported in the Hebrew Bible to have had mines in this area. Copper mining at the Ashalim site predates his reign in the 10th century BCE. The Arabah, especially its eastern part, was part of the realm of the Edomites (called "Idumeans" during Hellenistic and Roman times). Later the eastern Arabah became the domain of the Nabateans , the builders of the city of Petra . The existence of

320-470: Is the southernmost area in the world to host the Mediterranean cypress, Cupressus sempervirens . Of the hundreds of plants species inhabiting Dana, three can be found nowhere else in the world. Many plants, especially trees and shrubs, grow in the highlands of the nature reserve. The threatened Nubian ibex , Syrian serin , caracal , and lesser kestrel are natives of Wadi Dana and plans to save

352-725: The Arabah depression, the Gulf of Aqaba whose shorelines it incorporates, until finally reaching the Red Sea proper at the Straits of Tiran . The Jordan Rift Valley was formed many millions of years ago in the Miocene epoch (23.8 – 5.3 Myr ago) when the Arabian plate moved northward and then eastward away from Africa. One million years later, the land between the Mediterranean and

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384-584: The Jordanian Army . Below is a list of Jordanian population clusters in Wadi Araba: Timna Valley Park is notable for its prehistoric rock carvings, some of the oldest copper mines in the world, and a convoluted cliff called King Solomon's pillars. On the Jordanian side is Wadi Rum , famous among rock climbers, hikers, campers, and lovers of the outdoors. There is the Jordanian copper mining area of Wadi Feynan , including

416-827: The Paleozoic and Lower Cretaceous . It is also covered by shallow marine carbonate rocks from the Upper Cretaceous and the Tertiary period. The area around Dana is further characterized by a horst , the Dana Horst , formed by two faults running from east to west, which are the Salawan Fault and the Dana Fault. The horst contains Precambrian granitoids and volcanic rocks in contact with Cretaceous rocks. The origin of this basaltic formation

448-654: The Sea of Galilee and the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba of the Red Sea at Aqaba – Eilat . This included the Jordan River Valley between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, the Dead Sea itself, and what today is commonly called the Arava Valley. The contemporary use of the term is restricted to this southern section alone. The Arabah is 166 km (103 mi) in length, from the Gulf of Aqaba to

480-711: The Syro-African Depression , is an elongated depression located in modern-day Israel , Jordan and the West Bank . This geographic region includes the entire length of the Jordan River – from its sources, through the Hula Valley , the Korazim block, the Sea of Galilee , the (Lower) Jordan Valley , all the way to the Dead Sea , the lowest land elevation on Earth – and then continues through

512-863: The caracal ( Caracal caracal ) is found on the valley's savanna areas. A 15,000 ha (37,000-acre) tract of the northern Arava Valley, from the Ne'ot Hakikar Nature Reserve in the north to the Hazeva and Shezaf Nature Reserve in the south, has been recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports populations of both resident and migrating bird species, including sand partridges , garganeys , common cranes , black and white storks , Eurasian spoonbills and bitterns , black-winged stilts , desert tawny owls , lappet-faced vultures , Levant sparrowhawks , sooty falcons , Arabian warblers and babblers , Tristram's starlings , hooded wheatears and Dead Sea sparrows . Furthermore,

544-408: The 10th century BC, encouraged trade and production of copper instead of destroying the region. Tel Aviv University professor Ben-Yosef reported, "Our new findings contradict the view of many archaeologists that the Arava was populated by a loose alliance of tribes, and they're consistent with the biblical story that there was an Edomite kingdom here". The Israel–Jordan Peace Treaty was signed in

576-468: The Arava on October 26, 1994. The governments of Jordan and Israel are promoting development of the region. There is a plan to bring sea water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea through a canal ( Red–Dead Seas Canal ), which follows along the Arabah. This (long envisioned) project was once an issue of dispute between Jordan and Israel, but it was recently agreed that the project shall be constructed on and by

608-731: The Dead Sea Transform (DST) or Dead Sea Rift. The boundary separates the Arabian plate from the African plate , connecting the divergent plate boundary in the Red Sea (the Red Sea Rift ) to the East Anatolian Fault in Turkey . The DST fault system is generally considered to be a transform fault that has accommodated a 105-kilometre (65 mi) northwards displacement of the Arabian plate. This interpretation

640-561: The Jordan Rift Valley rose so that the sea water stopped flooding the area. Alternatively, it was a fall in the sea level that caused the disconnection, or a mix between the two phenomena – researchers have not yet reached a consensus. The geological and environmental evolution of the valley since its inception in the Oligocene can be seen in a variety of sedimentary and magmatic rock units, preserved as continuous sequences in

672-454: The Jordanian side. The Israeli population of the region is 52,000, of whom 47,500 live in Eilat (52,753 in 2021), and just over 5,000 live in 20 small towns north of Eilat, the largest of which is Yotvata , with a population (as of 2019) of 717 (735 in 2021). Eilat is a city , while all other towns are communal settlements of the kibbutz , moshav and community settlement type. Below

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704-582: The Qadisiyah plateau to the low-lying desert area of Wadi Araba . The varied geology of Dana contains limestone , sandstone , and granite . The area of Wadi Dana features wind-cut sandstone cliffs. Dana is the only nature reserve in Jordan that crosses four bio-geographical zones; Mediterranean, Irano-Turanian, Saharo-Arabian, and Sudanian penetration. Dana's unique landscape is formed by an outcrop (exposed bedrock) of fluvial sandstone , dating back to

736-568: The biblical Kingdom of Edom was proved by archaeologists led by Erez Ben-Yosef and Tom Levy, using a methodology called the punctuated equilibrium model in 2019. Archaeologists mainly took copper samples from the Timna Valley and Faynan in Jordan's Arava valley dated to 1300–800 BCE. According to the results of the analyses, the researchers thought that Pharaoh Shoshenk I of Egypt (the Biblical " Shishak "), who attacked Jerusalem in

768-455: The deeper basins. The outcropping formations around the basins represent alternating deposition and erosion phases. The lowest point in the Jordan Rift Valley is in the Dead Sea, the lowest spot of which is 790 m (2,590 ft) below sea level. The shore of the Dead Sea is the lowest dry land spot on Earth, at 400 m (1,300 ft) below sea level. With its flanks rising sharply to almost 1,000 m (3,300 ft) above sea level in

800-451: The eastern (Jordanian) side of the southern Arava Valley is the corresponding, 17,200 ha (43,000-acre), Wadi Araba IBA, about 160 km (99 mi) long by up to 25 km (16 mi) wide. An additional species recorded there is the vulnerable MacQueen's bustard , in very small numbers. In the Bronze and Iron Ages , the Arava was a center of copper production. King Solomon

832-484: The next 74 km (46 mi) to a point 15 km (9.3 mi) south of the Dead Sea. In the last section, the Arabah drops steeply to the Dead Sea, which is 417 m (1,368 ft) below sea level. The Arabah is scenic with colorful cliffs and sharp-topped mountains. The southern Arabah is hot and dry and virtually without rain. There are numerous species of flora and fauna in the Aravah Valley. Notably

864-764: The northern extension of the Red Sea Rift. In 1033, the rift valley was struck by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake , believed to have been produced along the DST fault system. It caused widespread destruction, a tsunami, and killed 70,000 people. The 1033 AD event was the last large earthquake on the Jordan Valley Fault. Given the estimated slip rate is 4.9 ± 0.2 mm (0.1929 ± 0.0079 in) per year, approximately 5 m (16 ft) of potential slip has been accumulated. An estimated 3.5–5 m (11–16 ft) of slip could be produced during

896-478: The region is significantly underestimated. Previous studies suggested a recurrence interval of 10,000 years for magnitude 7.5 earthquakes, but the researchers said the figure was 1,300 to 1,400 years. Yosef Shapira , the then State Comptroller of Israel , said that a major earthquake in Israel could kill up to 7,000 people if safety recommendations are not enforced. Reports of the years 2001, 2004 and 2011 found that

928-682: The site of Khirbat en-Nahas , corresponding to the one from Timna Valley in the west. Feynan Ecolodge was opened in Wadi Feynan by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in 2005. 30°25′01″N 35°09′05″E  /  30.41694°N 35.15139°E  / 30.41694; 35.15139 Jordan Rift Valley The Jordan Rift Valley , also Jordan Valley ( Hebrew : בִּקְעָת הַיַרְדֵּן Bīqʿāt haYardēn , Arabic : الغور Al-Ghor or Al-Ghawr ), also called

960-454: The southern shore of the Dead Sea. Topographically, the region is divided into three sections. From the Gulf of Aqaba northward, the land gradually rises over a distance of 77 km (48 mi), and reaches a height of 230 m (750 ft) above sea level, which represents the watershed divide between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea. From this crest, the land slopes gently northward over

992-544: The species were put forth by Global Environment Fund in 1994. Additionally, the largest breeding colony of the Syrian serin is in Dana Nature Reserve. Threats to the animals include hunting. Wadi Araba The Arabah / Araba ( Arabic : وادي عربة , romanized :  Wādī ʿAraba ) or Aravah / Arava ( Hebrew : הָעֲרָבָה , romanized :  hāʿĂrāḇā , lit.   'dry area' )

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1024-460: The west, and similarly in the east, the rift is a significant topographic feature over which a few narrow paved roads and difficult mountain tracks lead. The valley north of the Dead Sea has long been a site of agriculture because of water available from the Jordan River and numerous springs located on the valley's flanks. The plate boundary that extends through the valley is variously called

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