Nahal HaArava
Northern flow
The stream flows into the area of evaporation ponds in what used to be the southernmost end of the Dead Sea and divides these ponds into the Israel area (managed by the Dead Sea Works) and the Jordan area. After passing the evaporation ponds, it drains into the Dead Sea parallel to the brine drain channel. After the Dead Sea basin was severed into the northern and southern parts, the area between them turned into dry seabed. It is a dangerous area due to sinkholes and land mines, and the entrance there is prohibited. The banks of the Arava Stream (and the brine channel) had become eroded in the area, and the continued erosion endangers the stability of the evaporation ponds. Also the seasonal floods of the stream present danger to the chemical plants in the Mount Sodom area.
A correspondent of Kan 11 TV channel Oren Aharoni wrote a series of articles about the northern path of the Arava Stream and dubbed it a new "secret river" because it is mostly unknown to the general public.
References
- ^ israelhiking.osm.org.il
- ^ "Synoptic-Scale Control over Modern Rainfall and Flood Patterns in the Levant Drylands with Implications for Past Climates"
- ^ "Industry-Driven versus Natural Groundwater Flow Regime at the Dead Sea Coastal Aquifer"
- ^ "Restoring Natural Resources", a Dead Sea Works report
- ^ "Israel's not so secret new river", by Shani Ashkenazi, Globes, January 22, 2020