The Judean Hills and the Dead Sea – August 9th, 200931.5N 35.4E
The Dead Sea lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, between Israel and the West Bank (left) and Jordan (right), surrounded by mountains. An extensive network of salt evaporation pans known as the Dead Sea Dikes can be identified as a series of parallel lines in the southern part of the lake.
This orthorectified image also clearly shows the Judean Hills to the west, as well as other steeper mountains to the east. The Judean Hills, also called the Judean Mountains, Hebron Hills and Jibal al-Khalil, run generally north-south. They extend both to the west and east of Jerusalem, with the southern end known as Mount Hebron.
The range forms a natural division between the Shephelah coastal plains to the west and the Jordan Rift Valley to the east, as well as causing the rain shadow responsible for the Judean desert.