The Korazim Plateau ( he, רמת כורזים, ''Ramat Korazim'', also spelled Corazim), is a

volcanic plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions throu ...

, located in northern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. The plateau is bounded between by the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley ( he, עמק החולה, translit. ''Emek Ha-Ḥula''; also transliterated as Huleh Valley, ar, سهل الحولة) is an agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water, which used to be Lake Hula, prior to ...

in the north, Sea of Galilee in the south, the mountains of the Galilee to the west and by the Jordan River to the east. Se
map
at govmap.gov.il It is named after an ancient Jewish settlement also known as "

Chorazin Chorazin ( gr, Χοραζίν ; also Chorazain) or Korazim ( he, כורזים; also Chorizim) was an ancient village in the Roman and Byzantine periods, best known from the Christian Gospels. It stood on the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on ...

". The highest point is Filon Hill, which is 409 meters above sea level. The plateau is home to a few Israeli communities, including

Rosh Pinna Rosh Pina or Rosh Pinna ( he, רֹאשׁ פִּנָּה, lit. ''Cornerstone'') is a local council in the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on the eastern slopes of Mount Kna'an in the Northern District of Israel. It was established as Gei ...

Hatzor HaGlilit Hatzor HaGlilit ( he, חָצוֹר הַגְּלִילִית lit. "Hatzor of Galilee") is a town in the Korazim Plateau in northern Israel near Rosh Pinna and Safed. It is named for the nearby biblical site of Tel Hazor. In it had a population o ...

and the Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye. The plateau's rural settlements make part of the regional councils of

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee ( he, הגליל העליון, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; ar, الجليل الأعلى, ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period. It originally referred to a mounta ...

, Mevo'ot HaHermon and Emek HaYarden. Several important archaeological and historical sites are located on the plateau, including

Tel Hazor Tel Hazor ( he, תל חצור), also Chatsôr ( he, חָצוֹר), translated in LXX as Hasōr ( grc, Άσώρ), identified at Tell Waqqas / Tell Qedah el-Gul ( ar, تل القدح, Tell el-Qedah), is an archaeological tell at the site of anci ...

Daughters of Jacob Bridge Daughters of Jacob Bridge ( he, גשר בנות יעקב, ''Gesher Bnot Ya'akov''; ar, جسر بنات يعقوب, ''Jisr Benat Ya'kub''). is a bridge that spans the last natural ford of the Jordan at the southern end of the Hula Basin between ...

Mount of Beatitudes The Mount of Beatitudes ( he, הר האושר, ''Har HaOsher'') is a hill in northern Israel, in the Korazim Plateau. It is the traditional site of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Location The site known as the Mount of Beatitudes is on the nort ...

and Jubb Yussef. Historically the plateau also served as a transit region for the valleys to the north and south, and the heights to the east and west. Armies passed through the plateau towards the Golan during the Palestine Campaign of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1918, the 1948 Arab–Israeli war, Six Day War and

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

Geography

The Korazim Plateau is a distinct geographical region, that is not part of either of the regions that surround it.Stepansky (2002),
5
/ref> According to Ministry of Environmental Protection the plateau is bounded between the Safed and Naftali Mountains (west), the

(north), the Jordan River and

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

(east) and the Sea of Galilee, excluding the narrow coastal strip (south). Within these boundaries the region measures 117 km². The archaeological survey of the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, he, רשות העתיקות ; ar, داﺌرة الآثار, before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of ...

also included parts of the mountains to the west and the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, bringing the total area to 135 km².

Geology and geomorphology

The term Korazim Plateau is used to define a geomorphological feature set between the Hula Basin and the Sea of Galilee. It is an elevated pressure-ridge within the

Dead Sea Transform The Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system, also sometimes referred to as the Dead Sea Rift, is a series of faults that run from the Maras Triple Junction (a junction with the East Anatolian Fault in southeastern Turkey) to the northern end of the ...

(DST) which acted as a barrier against the waters of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

when these flooded the lower-lying part of the DST, between what are now the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), a ...

, during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58transgression. The elevated Korazim block as well as the higher elevation of the Hula Basin meant that the latter did not receive any marine water during that process. Geologically, the plateau is divided into two main sections. The southern two-thirds are covered in layers of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

. The basalt area falls from a height of 409 meters above sea level to 210 meters below sea level at the coast of the Sea of Galilee. The basalt is aged between 1.6 and 2.9 million years in the northern part as measured near Kfar HaNassi, and 3.5 to 5 million years in the lower part as measured near the village of

Korazim Korazim ( he, כּוֹרָזִים) is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located on the Korazim plateau to the north of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population o ...

. Some

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and ...

s were found near Tel Ruman, Filon Hill and probably also in Tel Nes and Tel Ya'af. The origin of the young basalt is probably from these volcanic cones, but the older part of the basalt is part of a big layer of basalt which also covers the Golan Heights and southern Syria.Stepansky (2008),
271
/ref>Stepansky (2002),
11
/ref> The basalt part of the plateau is very similar to the nearby Golan with its rocky landscape, the characters of the ancient settlements found there, as well as the abundance of dolmens found here. The northern third of the plateau is characterized by lower hills of

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, conglomerate and some young basalt near Yarda. The height of this part ranges between 100 and 250 meters above sea level. On this area, the city of Hazor was established, which was an important city in ancient and biblical times. Some

layers can also be found in around the banks of the Jordan River (such as the area of the

). The plateau is bounded by faults to the east (the Jordan River Valley) and to the west (on the slopes of Mount Canaan). Other signs of fracture in the basalt indicate recent tectonic activity in the region, which may be the cause of the

Galilee earthquake of 1837 The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, shook the Galilee on January 1 and is one of a number of moderate to large events that have occurred along the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system that marks the boundary of t ...

Water

The rivers of the Korazim Plateau flow eastward to the Jordan River, and southward to the Sea of Galilee. The biggest river in the region is the Rosh Pinna River, which is 13 kilometer long and has a

water basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

of 40 square kilometers, which flows to the Jordan. Other rivers include the Mahanayim River and Tubim River, which flow to the Jordan as well, and the Korazim River, Or River and Koach River which flow to the Sea of Galilee. Next to these rivers, there are plenty of springs, around which many ancient settlements existed.Stepansky (2002), p
12–13
/ref>

Archaeology

During the 19th century, the Korazim Plateau, as well as the rest of the country, was surveyed by European explorers. French explorer

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (15 September 1821 – 21 Septembe 1890) was a French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included Greece, Asia Min ...

and the PEF Survey of Palestine headed by

Claude Reignier Conder Claude Reignier Conder (29 December 1848, Cheltenham – 16 February 1910, Cheltenham) was an English soldier, explorer and antiquarian. He was a great-great-grandson of Louis-François Roubiliac and grandson of editor and author Josiah Conder. ...

and

Herbert Kitchener Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, (; 24 June 1850 – 5 June 1916) was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his scorched earth policy against the Boers, h ...

described the various sites in the plateau. In the early 20th century the area was studied by German explorer Paul Karge and British archaeologist

Francis Turville-Petre Francis Adrian Joseph Turville-Petre (4 March 1901 – 16 August 1942) was a British archaeologist, famous for the discovery of the ''Homo heidelbergensis'' fossil Galilee Man in 1926, and for his work at Mount Carmel, in what was then the Briti ...

. During the late 20th century, Israeli and European archaeologists made extensive excavations in the major sites of

, Tel Kinrot and

, all on the edges of the plateau. In 1990 a systematic and extensive survey project began headed by Yosef Stepansky. on behalf of the

.Stepansky (2008), p
271–272
/ref> Although the Korazim Plateau is considered a peripheral area, during most of its history, it was a dense region as evidenced by the remains of over a hundred ancient settlements which were discovered by archaeologists. The rural basalt regions in the center and south of the plateau were inhabited by semi-nomadic people. The plateau's location allowed it to serve as a transit region for the valleys to the north and south, and the heights to the east and west.

Chalcolithic period

The plateau was first settled extensively during the

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

period (4th millennium BCE). Over 25 settlements were established in that period in the plateau's basalt areas. These settlements resemble the Golan Heights, Hula Valley, and the Dalton Plateau's Chalcolithic cultures, with distinctive pottery and rectangular houses.

Bronze Age

Through the Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second prin ...

settlement continued to exist only in some of the Chalcolithic sites, and a few new sites were formed, mostly in the northern part of the plateau. During Early Bronze Age II (3000–2700 BCE) the city of Hazor was first established, while in the rest of the plateau there were between 10 and 15 settlements. In that period there was a growth in the settlements in the southern slopes of the plateau on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. As Hazor grew to be one of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

's largest and most influential cities, the settlements in the Korazim Plateau became its suburban area. During Early Bronze Age III (2700–2200 BCE), the city of Hazor grew to the size of an urban settlement with an area of between 100 and 150 dunams, while all of the plateau's settlements were depopulated. During Middle Bronze Age I (2200–2000 BCE), Hazor shrank to a small village, while in the plateau there was only one settlement in Khirbet Berech. In that period hundreds of megalithic tombs called " Dolmens" were built in the southern part of the plateau. During Middle Bronze Age II (2000–1550 BCE) the size of Hazor reached its peak as a metropolis of 800 to 1000 dunams. Some 15 to 20 small villages existed on the plateau during that period, most of which next to springs. In total their combined size was between 100 and 150 dunams. During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), the city of Hazor became smaller but still was the largest in Canaan at 700–800 dunams. Only two settlements existed in Tel Kinnarot and Kfar Nahum.

Iron Age

After the Late Bronze Age collapse and during Iron Age I (1200–1000 BCE) the city of Hazor was destroyed and replaced by a semi-nomadic settlement, while the settlement in the Korazim Plateau flourished, with 10 settlements with a combined area of 100 dunams and a city in Tel Kinnarot of 100 dunams alone. Between 1000 BCE and the

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the ...

n conquest in 733, Hazor became a royal center, while the settlement in the plateau increased with 20 settlements, some of which were fortified and they had a combined area of 200–250 dunams.Stepansky (2008), p
277–282
/ref>

Modern settlement

Because the soil is difficult to cultivate, and there is a lack of water sources, the number of settlements on the Korazim Plateau is low. These are, from north to south:

Ayelet HaShahar Ayelet HaShahar ( he, אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר) is a kibbutz in northern Israel acquired in 1892 and settled in the second Aliyah, located on the Korazim Plateau, by the Rosh Pina – Metulla road, it is approximately south of Kiryat S ...

Gadot Gadot ( he, גָּדוֹת, ''lit.'' Banks) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In , it had a population of . History Kibbutz Gadot (originally '' ...

Mishmar HaYarden Mishmar HaYarden ( he, מִשְׁמַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, lit. ''Guard of the Jordan'') is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, on Highway 91 between Mahanayim and Gadot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot ...

Mahanayim Mahanayim ( he, מחניים, מַחֲנַיִם) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, around three kilometres northeast of Rosh Pinna, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a ...

, Kfar HaNassi,

, Tuba-Zangariyye,

Elifelet Elifelet ( he, אֱלִיפֶלֶט) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the Korazim Plateau near Rosh Pina, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of . Etymology The name "Elifelet" i ...

, Karkom, Ami'ad,

Almagor Almagor ( he, אַלְמָגוֹר) is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, to the north of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Emek HaYarden Regional Council. In it had a population of . The village ...

and Amnun. All of the settlements are Jewish and rural, except for the Muslim Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye.

References

Bibliography

*Yosef Stepansky (2002), "Ramat Korazim" (in Hebrew). Jerusalem
''Ariel: Journal for Knowledge of the Land of Israel: The Eastern Upper Galilee and Ramat Korazim''
edited by Gabriel Barkai and Eli Shiller. *Yosef Stepansky (2008), "Between Hatzor and Kinneret: Ramat Kozraim in the Time of the Bible" (in Hebrew). Jerusalem
''Ariel: Journal for Knowledge of the Land of Israel: In the Mountain, Shephela and Arava: Studies Served to Adam Zertal in the Thirtieth Year to the Menashe Survey''
pp. 271–289.

External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Korazim Plateau Upper Galilee Geography of Northern District (Israel) Regions of Israel Chorazin Volcanic plateaus Plateaus of Asia