Overview of Middle East Water Resources
Surface Water
Upper Jordan River
The Jordan River is the largest stream in the region,
and its rich history is known around the world. The
watershed of the upper Jordan River includes the
northern Mountain Belt, the southwestern slopes of
Mount Hermon (Jabel Al Sheik), and the northern tip
of the Jordan Rift Valley. The mountain ranges, northern
latitude, and proximity to the Mediterranean Sea yield
average annual precipitation values ranging from 450
to over 1,200 mm. The upper Jordan River derives
baseflow principally from a group of karstic springs on
the western and southern slopes of Mount Hermon that
flow into the Hasbani, Dan, and Banias Rivers. The
largest of the springs is the Dan, which supplies a
steady flow and accounts for about one-half of the base flow
of the upper Jordan River. As it enters the Jordan
Rift Valley, the upper Jordan River flows through fertile
agricultural areas into Lake Tiberias. The flow characteristics
of the upper Jordan River near the lower end of the Hula Valley have
been measured from 1960 to 1997 at the Obstacle Bridge
gaging station. As shown below, the median annual volume of the Jordan
River at this station is 490 MCM.
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Upper Jordan River at gaging station
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Springfed baseflows account for about one-half the annual
flow volume of the river in a typical year; the rest is
from rainfall runoff. Seasonal variation in flow is moderated by
this large baseflow as shown in the median monthly
volumes in the column chart to the right. The highest
flows are sustained in February and March; the lowest
flows occur in July and August. The annual variation of
the stream is much less than for other streams in the
region. The largest floods since 1960 occurred during
1969 and 1992.
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Hydrographs. Left: Median annual volume by watershed. Right: Annual volume, 1960-96.
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Water Data Banks Project,
Multilateral Working Group on Water Resources,
Middle East Peace Process
Overview of Middle East Water Resources
Information about this document.
