Jordan

River rising on Mount Hermon, Syria, at 550 m/1,800 ft above sea level and flowing south for about 320 km/200 mi via the Lake of Tiberias (the Sea of Galilee) to the Dead Sea, 390 m/1,290 ft below sea level. It is the lowest river in the world. It occupies the northern part of the Great Rift Valley; its upper course forms the boundary of Israel with Syria and the kingdom of Jordan; its lower course runs through Jordan. The West Bank has been occupied by Israel since 1967.

Course The Jordan runs from north to south through a great valley some 260 km/162 mi long and at times as much as 25 km/15 mi wide. The highest source is 520 m/1,706 ft above sea level to the west of Mount Hermon, near to the village of Hasbeya; under the name of the Hasbany it flows to join the Leddan and the Baniasi, which unite into one stream. The Jordan then flows south into the Huleh valley and the Lake of Tiberias, where it is already more than 180 m/590 ft below sea level.

The most important feature in its course between the Lake of Tiberias and the Dead Sea is the valley known to Arabs as the Ghor, some 100 km/62 mi long and from 5km/3 mi to 20 km/12 mi wide, through which it passes. It then flows into the Dead Sea at a point 394 m/1,293 ft below the level of the Mediterranean.

Pilgrimages Processions to the Jordan take place from Jericho at the Orthodox Epiphany and Easter, when white-shrouded pilgrims bathe in the river. The bathing-place of the pilgrims is supposed to be the scene of the baptism of Christ, the miraculous division of the waters by the cloak of Elijah, and the legend of St Christopher, who is said to have carried the infant Christ across the river.