Arabah

The Arabah (Hebrew: הָעֲרָבָה, HaArava, lit. "desolate and dry area"; Arabic: وادي عربة‎, Wādī ʻAraba), also known as Aravah, is a section of the Jordan Rift Valley running in a north-south orientation between the southern end of the Sea of Galilee (as the Jordan river valley) down to the Dead Sea and continuing further south where it ends at the Gulf of Aqaba. It includes most of the border between Israel to the west and Jordan to the east. Many modern geographers no longer acknowledge the northern section, between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee to be part of the Arabah, but in antiquity up to the early 20th century this full expanse of Rift Valley was all considered part of the Arabah.

The hottest, southern stretch of the Arabah is 166 km (103 mi) in length from the Gulf of Aqaba to 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 Red Sea. From this crest, the land slopes gently northward over 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 at 417 m (1,368 ft) below sea level, is the lowest point on earth (and historically falling).

The southern Arabah is very hot and dry and virtually without rain; consequently, it is only lightly populated. The Jordanian administrative district of Wadi Araba is reported to have a population of 6775, with an additional 96,000 in Aqaba itself. Five major tribes comprise eight settlements on the Jordanian side. These tribes are: Al-S'eediyeen (Arabic: السعيديين‎), Al-Ihewat (الإحيوات), Al-Ammareen (العمارين), Al-Rashaideh (الرشايدة), 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 the Jordanian Army.

On the Israeli side there are a few kibbutzim and moshavim. The oldest kibbutz in the Arava is Yotvata, founded in 1957, and named for an ancient town in the area mentioned once in the Bible. Kibbutz Lotan, which is one of Israel's newest kibbutzim, has a bird-watching center. The oldest Moshav in the central Arava area is Ein Yahav.

In Biblical times the area was a center of copper production; King Solomon apparently had mines here. The Arabah was home to the Edomites (Edom was called "Idumea" in Roman times). East of the Arabah was the domain of the Nabateans, the builders of the city of Petra.

The Israel–Jordan Peace Treaty was signed in the Arabah on October 26, 1994. The governments of Jordan and Israel are now 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 the Jordanian side.