Marj Sanur ( ar, مرج صانور, translation: "Sanur Valley"; also called Marj al-Ghuruq, translation: "Drowning Valley" is a closed basin within the northern mountains of the West Bank, located entirely in the southern

Jenin Governorate The Jenin Governorate ( ar, محافظة جنين, Muḥāfaẓat Ǧanīn) is one of 16 Governorates of Palestine. It covers the northern extremity of the West Bank, including the area around the city of Jenin. During the first six months of th ...

, in between the cities of

Jenin Jenin (; ar, ') is a Palestinian city in the northern West Bank. It serves as the administrative center of the Jenin Governorate of the State of Palestine and is a major center for the surrounding towns. In 2007, Jenin had a population of app ...

(to the north) and

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

(to the south). Its total area is roughly 20 square kilometers, while its drainage basin is about 55 square kilometers, most of which is in the Jenin Governorate, with two square kilometers extending into the Tubas Governorate. Marj Sanur abuts the Qabatiya Mountains to the north, the Zawiya Hills to the west and the Musheirif Highlands to the south. Further to the northwest is the

Sahl Arraba Dothan Valley ( he, עמק דותן ''Emek Dotan''), called Sahl Arraba (سهل عرّابة) in Arabic, is a fertile tectonic valley in the northern West Bank. The region is about eleven kilometers long and four kilometers wide. There are several ...

valley and further to the east, past the towns of

Aqqaba Aqqaba ( ar, عقّابة) is a Palestinian town located on a slope in the Jordan Valley in the northern West Bank, 15 kilometers northeast of Jenin in the Tubas Governorate of the State of Palestine. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau ...

and

Tubas A tuba is a musical instrument that plays notes in the bass clef. Tuba can also refer to: Instruments *Roman tuba, a straight trumpet of ancient Rome *Tuba curva, a revival of the Roman ''cornu'' *Wagner tuba, an instrument like the tuba curva ...

, is the Jordan Valley. Marj Sanur's maximum length is 7.5 kilometers and maximum width is 3.5 kilometers. The average elevation in the valley is between 350 and 360 meters above sea level, with the highest elevation at 370 meters and the lowest elevation at 348 meters. Surrounding the valley on all sides are mountains and hills with a range of elevation from 450 meters above sea level to

Mount Hureish Mount Hureish is a mountain in the northern West Bank, part of the broader Jabal Nablus (Samarian Hills) range. It abuts the Marj Sanur valley to the south and its peak is 764 meters above sea level, making it the tallest mountain in the Jenin Gove ...

, which has an elevation of 764 meters above sea level. Marj Sanur is also a seasonal lake, usually between December and April, as the basin has no drainage outlet.Zertal, 2004, p
36
/ref> It typically becomes flooded when rainfall is higher than 600 millimeters per year.Zereini, 2013, p
72
/ref> There are five entrances into Marj Sanur. In Arabic, ''marj'' translates as the "fertile valley" or "meadow". The valley is named after the village of Sanur, one of seven Palestinian villages that border the valley. The other six villages are Meithalun,

Siris Siris may refer to: Geography *Siris (Magna Graecia), an ancient city in southern Italy *Serres, a city in Macedonia called Siris by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus *Siris, Sardinia, an Italian commune *Sinni (river) (Siris in Latin), Italy * ...

al-Judeida Al-Judeida ( ar, الجديدة) is a Palestinian village in the Jenin Governorate in the western area of the West Bank, located south of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 4,738 in the ...

, Sir,

Misilyah Misilyah ( ar, مسلية), sometimes spelled Mithilîyeh and Misilîyeh, is a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, located 14 kilometers south of the city of Jenin. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the village h ...

and Zawiya. Meithalun is the largest village around the valley and it has the largest share of Marj Sanur's land.Merkel, 2002, p
150
/ref> The larger towns of Qabatiya and

are located further north of Marj Sanur.

References

Bibliography

* * * * Bodies of water of the West Bank Valleys of the West Bank Jenin Governorate Valleys of Asia {{coord, 32.359258, N, 35.286331, E, source:kolossus-hewiki, display=title