THE JUDEAN DESERT – A GEOLOGICAL & HISTORICAL OVERVIEW

GEOLOGICAL OVERVIEW :

The Judean desert covers an area of 1500 sq kilometers & is bordered by the Judean mountains in the west & the Dead Sea escarpment in the east. Nahal (river) Bokek defines the the southern border & delineates the start of the Negev desert which extends southwards to Eilat. The transition between the northern border & the start of the Samarian hills is gradual & occurs over a distance of roughly 12 kilometers, beginning with the Arab village of Al-Auja & Nahal (river) Yitav & extending to the Jewish village of Fatsa'el & Wadi (canyon) Rashash further north.

The main geological components of the desert are limestone, dolomite & chalk which are all sedimentary rocks. Limestone is made up of grains but mainly composed of the skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral, foraminifera, and molluscs who's main component is lime.

Dolomite is a variant of limestone but rich in magnesiun carbonate. Chalk is also a variant of limestone & is soft, fine-grained & easily pulverized. It is white-to-grayish in colour & composed of the shells of minute marine organisms such as foraminifera, coccoliths, and rhabdoliths.

As mentioned previously, the Judean mountains who's apex lies 765 meters above sea level define the western border of the desert. Water vapor in the moist air coming from the Meditteranean Sea condenses & forms rain clouds that release their load as they ascend the western slopes. The air that continues to the eastern slopes is devoid of moisture, therby creating a rain shadow which results in the formation of a desert (Refer to the cross sectional thumbnail sketch).

The outflow of water near the shores of the Dead Sea at Ein Gedi, Enot Tsukim, Kane & Samar are the consequence of an aquifer which is an underground impermiable layer that slopes towards the Dead Sea. Surface rainwater that permeates into the ground goes through a natural filtration process until it comes into contact with the undeground aquifer which then directs the water to the Dead Sea outflows. This filtration & conveyance process has been estimated to take 200 years from the time rain descended to the time it exits the outflow. As a result of the long filtration process, the water exiting the outflow is of a very high quality. Kibbutz Ein Gedi exploits this fact by bottling the water and selling it on the open market.The rain-fed aquifer contains an average yearly volume of some 100 million cubic meters of water. (Refer to thumbnail sketch of aquifer). Rivers have eroded the landscape & created deep canyons in places. A prime example of one such canyon is Wadi Dragot which is 43 kilometers in length and 200 meters deep. The narrowness of the canyons shade the resident river from the sun and are therefore a source of water throughout the year.

HISTORICAL OVERVIEW : The Judean desert lies within the boundaries of Judea & Samaria, & partially traverses the tribal allotments of Judah, Benjamin & Ephraim. Israel's adversaries employ the renaming technique & falsly refer to this area as part of the west bank. This done in order to hide the historical truth.

Though scarce in water, it has been a place of refuge throughout history as evidenced by the following events, all of which are deserving of their own separate articles.

David hid from the wrath of King Saul (1025 B.C.E – 1010 B.C.E.) in a cave located near the spring of Ein Gedi. (1 Samuel : Chapter 24).

The prophet Elijah fled here to escape the vengeance of Queen Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, the 7th king of the northern kingdom of Israel who reigned from 874 B.C.E to 853 B.C.E. (1 Kings 19 : 1-8)

The Essene's, who were Jews by birth, moved out of Jerusalem & established a community in Qumran which is located on the shores of the Dead Sea. They adopted a monastic lifestyle, adhered to strict dietry laws and commited themselves to celibacy.Their community flourished between the 2nd century B.C.E – 1ST century C.E. Wether they were the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls or not, is a hotly debated subject amongt's biblical scholars.

According to the Christian narrative, it was the area where Jesus spent 40 days & nights, during which time he was tempted by the devil on three occasions.

From the caves in the area, Bar Kochba led the Jewish revolt againts Rome between 132 C.E. to 135 C.E. Numerous artifacts from this period have been uncovered & include clothing, footware, house hold implements & personel belongings. Historically, the most important of these finds was located in Wadi Murabba'at & comprised of a bundle of papyri wrapped around four wooden slats & tied toegether with two pieces of string. Written in a cursive script in either Aramaic or Hebrew, these "letters" were dictated by Bar Kochba & refer mostly to urgently needed supplies as well as orders to punish those not supporting the revolt.

The desert is home to the 5thcentury Greek orthodox monastaries of Mar Saba & St George which are still active today.

NOTE : Within the desert there are many hiking trails, however, I am obligated to offer a word of caution. Unusual as it may seem, there are signs within the desert alerting hikers of floods. It is therfore imperative to obtain a weather report during the winter months, Israel's rainy season. A downpour results in surface streams converging into Wadi's, their collective force resulting in very powerfull flash floods which are lethal. Summer on the other hand exposes hikers to extreme heat. Dehydration is a real concern, therefore always ensure that you have a hat and water in your possesion.

Ron Traub (Tour Guide & Architect). Website : rontraub-tours.com Photo's : Rimonah Traub & the internet. Sketches : Ron Traub.