The Yehudiya Reserve ( he, שמורת יהודיה) is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in the central

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 ...

. With the area of 134 sq. km, it is the largest reserve in the Golans. The height differential of its landscape - from 200 meters below the sea level to 600 meters above - provides for high waterfalls.Meshushim Stream, (part of) Yahudiya NatureReserve
a brochure of the

Israel Nature and Parks Authority The Israel Nature and Parks Authority ( he, רשות הטבע והגנים ''Rashut Hateva Vehaganim''; ar, سلطة الطبيعة والحدائق) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, ...

. Accessed 6 Jan 2022. It is named after the ancient village of Yehudiya, one of many archaeological sites located within the reserve."Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve"
an

webpage Due to the varied scenery of streams, gorges with waterfalls, woodlands, rich wildlife, and volcanic basalt landscape it is a popular tourist destination in

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 ...

."Yehudiya Nature Reserve"
101israel.com It is located between Katsrin in the north east and

Bethsaida Bethsaida (; from gr, Βηθσαϊδά from Hebrew/Aramaic ''beth-tsaida'', lit. " house of hunting" from the Hebrew root ; ar, بيت صيدا), also known as Julias, is a place mentioned in the New Testament. Julias lay in an administrative d ...

(north of the

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee ( he, יָם כִּנֶּרֶת, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ar, بحيرة طبريا), also called Lake Tiberias, Kinneret or Kinnereth, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest ...

) in the south west, and between Road 888 in the west (Bethsaida junction – Customs House Junction) and the borders of the

Gamla nature reserve Gamla nature reserve is a nature reserve and archaeological site located in the center of the Golan Heights, about 20 km south to the Israeli settlement of Katzrin. It adjoins the Yehudiya Forest Nature Reserve. The nature reserve stretch ...

and Road 869 in the south. Road 87 from Yehudiya Junction to Katsrin South Junction crosses it. hexagon pool

Most of the area are covered by

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

strata. In many places there are hexagonal basalt columns. The most impressive display of them is in the Hexagon Pool on the Meshushim Stream (Nahal Meshushim, "Hexagons Stream"), although notable hexagonal formations exist by the (Nahal Zavitan) and the Ayit Waterfall. A part of the reserve (south of Yehudiya River towards the Daliyot River) is a training area for the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

, which sometimes causes fires. The Yehudiya forest area covers 66 square kilometers. It is rather sparse and trees cover about 10% of the woodland, and the rest is

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

-like landscape. The most prevalent tree is ''

Quercus ithaburensis ''Quercus ithaburensis'', the Mount Tabor oak, is a tree in the beech family. It is found in Southeastern Europe, from southeastern Italy, southern Albania and Greece, and in southwestern Asia from Turkey south through Lebanon, Israel, Syria, an ...

'' (Mount Tabor Oak). The reserve is abundant in water sources. Most important rivers (streams) are Meshushim, Zavitan, Yehudiya, Gamla, and Daliyot.Hof, Frederic C. (2009). "Mapping Peace Between Syria and Israel"
p.13
(free access),

United States Institute of Peace The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American Federal government of the United States, federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individual ...

special report

References

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