Geography Negev

nahal paran, negev

the negev covers more half of israel, on 13,000 km² (4,700 sq mi) or @ least 55% of country s land area. forms inverted triangle shape western side contiguous desert of sinai peninsula, , eastern border arabah valley. negev has number of interesting cultural , geological features. among latter 3 enormous, craterlike makhteshim (box canyons), unique region; makhtesh ramon, hamakhtesh hagadol, , hamakhtesh hakatan.

the negev rocky desert. melange of brown, rocky, dusty mountains interrupted wadis (dry riverbeds bloom briefly after rain) , deep craters. can split 5 different ecological regions: northern, western , central negev, high plateau , arabah valley. northern negev, or mediterranean zone, receives 300 mm of rain annually , has fertile soils. western negev receives 250 mm of rain per year, light , partially sandy soils. sand dunes can reach heights of 30 metres here. home city of beersheba, central negev has annual precipitation of 200 mm , characterized impervious soil, known loess, allowing minimum penetration of water greater soil erosion , water runoff. high plateau area of negev mountains/ramat hanegev (hebrew: רמת הנגב‎‎, negev heights) stands between 370 metres , 520 metres above sea level extreme temperatures in summer , winter. area gets 100 mm of rain per year, inferior , partially salty soils. arabah valley along jordanian border stretches 180 km eilat in south tip of dead sea in north. arabah valley arid barely 50 mm of rain annually. has inferior soils in little can grow without irrigation , special soil additives.