| Judaean Mountains | |
|---|---|
| Harei Yehuda | |
 View of the Judaean Mountains near Jerusalem | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Halhul (Mount Nabi Yunis) |
| Elevation | 1,026 m (3,366 ft)[1] |
| Coordinates | 31°40′N35°10′E / 31.667°N 35.167°E /31.667; 35.167[2] |
| Geography | |
  Location | |
| Parent range | Great Rift Valley |
| Geology | |
| Rock age | Late Cretaceous |
| Rock type(s) | Terra rossa,limestone |
| Climbing | |
| Easiest route | Road of the Patriarchs (the ridge route) |
TheJudaean Mountains, orJudaean Hills (Hebrew:הרי יהודה,romanized: Harei Yehuda) are amountain range in theWest Bank andIsrael whereJerusalem,Bethlehem,Hebron and several other biblical sites are located. The mountains reach a height of 1,026 metres (3,366 ft).[1] The Judean Mountains can be divided into a number of sub-regions, including theMount Hebron ridge, the Jerusalem ridge and the Judean slopes.
The Judaean Mountains formed the heartland of theKingdom of Judah (930–586 BCE), where the earliest Jewish settlements emerged, and from which Jews are originally descended.[3][4][5]
The Judaean Mountains are part of a more extended range that runs in a north-south direction. The ridge consists of theSamarian Hills in its northern part, and of the Judaean Mountains in its southern part, the two segments meeting at the latitude ofRamallah. The westward descent from the hard limestone country of the Judaean mountains towards thecoastal plain is by way of a longitudinal trough of fosse cut through chalk, followed by the low, rolling soft limestone hills of theShephelah, while eastwards the landscape falls steeply towards theJordan Rift Valley. The southern end of the mountain range is atBeersheba[6][7][8] in the northern part of theNegev, where the mountains slope down into the Beersheba-Arad valley.[citation needed] The average height of the Judaean Mountains is of 900 metres (2,953 ft), and they encompass the cities of Ramallah,Jerusalem,Bethlehem andHebron.[citation needed] The northern section of the Judaean mountains is referred to as Jerusalem Hills, and the southern one asHebron Hills.[citation needed]
The Judaean Mountains were heavily forested in antiquity. The range is mostly composed ofterra rossa soils over hardlimestones.[1][9]
The Judaean Mountains are the surface expression of a series ofmonoclinicfolds which trend north-northwest through Israel. The folding is the central expression of theSyrian Arc belt ofanticlinal folding that began in theLate Cretaceous Period in northeast Africa and southwest Asia. The Syrian Arc extends east-northeast across theSinai, turns north-northeast through Israel and continues the east-northeast trend into Syria. The Israeli segment parallels theDead Sea Transform which lies just to the east.[10][11] Theuplift events that created the mountain occurred in two phases one in theLate Eocene-Early Oligocene and second in theEarly Miocene.[12]
Inprehistoric times, animals no longer found elsewhere in theLevant region were found here, includingelephants,rhinoceroses,giraffes andwild Asian water buffalo.[13]
The range haskarst topography including astalactitecave inNahal Sorek National Park betweenJerusalem andBeit Shemesh and the area surroundingOfra, where fossils of prehistoric flora and fauna were found.
According to theHebrew Bible, the Judaean Mountains were the allotment of theTribe of Judah and the heartland of the formerKingdom of Judah.[14][15]
The main freeway betweenTel Aviv andJerusalem, which further extends to theJordan Valley as a regular road.Highway 1, passes through the Judaean Mountains, betweenBeit Shemesh andJerusalem.
AnIsrael Railways line,Jaffa-Jerusalem railway, runs from Beit Shemesh along theBrook of Sorek andValley of Rephaim to theJerusalem Malha Train Station. The line has since been largely replaced by theTel Aviv-Jerusalem railway, which utilizes tunnels and bridges through the Judaean Mountains, runs up to 160 km/h (99 mph) betweenBen Gurion Airport andJerusalem-Yitzhak Navon railway station.
The Judaean Mountains have been associated withwinemaking for thousands of years, as evidenced by the abundance of ancientwinepresses, references toviticulture in ancient texts like theHebrew Bible, and archaeological findings such as theArad ostraca, written byJudahite soldiers in the late 7th century BCE.[16][17] Nevertheless, with theMuslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, and particularly during the laterMamluk rule in the Middle Ages, a significant decline in winemaking activities occurred, ultimately leading to acomplete prohibition of winemaking.[18] In the 1980s, the Judaean Mountains witnessed a notable resurgence in winemaking, driven byIsraeli entrepreneurs. Today, the area is renowned for itsboutiquewineries. This region's combination ofMediterranean microclimates,terra rossa clay soil, and high-altitude vineyards has also propelled it into the spotlight as a burgeoning center for quality wine production. In recent decades, wines originating from this area have garnered international recognition.[16]
In August 2020, the Judean Hills region in Israel received the country's first official wine appellation.[19]
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Media related toJudaean Mountains at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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