Heaps Of Deserts
Oded commented, two posts ago, that in Israel there must be at least 3-4 types of deserts. I usually count more. I thought of responding in that post, but then decided that I can just list the major types that I see in a post of their own. So here is a short list of some distinct landscapes you can view at southern Israel.
- Judean Desert. The master of them all. Deep canyons.
- Arad area. Soft brown hills.
- Halutza and ancient (in great contradiction to modern) Rehovot area. Sand dunes.
- The Craters. coloured rocks with dramatic and unique changes between them.
- Negev Plateu. Endless while hills, with the remarkable Tzin canyon hiding between them.
- Great Rivers. The shallow valleys that fill the areas between the Negev mountains and the Eilat mountains are among the best places to observe sunsets in Israel.
- Dead sea area. The Sdom salt mountain and Amiaz plateu, despite their relatively small size, are distinct from the Judean desert that touches them.
- The Arava. Probably the least explored desert around. This piece of land, that for many is merely the “road to Eilat” has distinct African dry savannah-like propertries found nowhere else in Israel.
- Eilat mountains. The oldest rocks in the middle east with their astounishing combination of red, black and white colours.
I think that I got to nine (you can probably get to many more): that’s without mentioning anything about the treasures the deserts conceal - from unique fauna and flora; natural phenomena such as floods, salt flats, petrified forests, and hidden water holes; residents of the deserts; ruins of ancient cultures and truely amazing archaeological sites (from buried cities in the sand to famous palaces thousands of years old); and much more.
Is there any wander that I like the deserts?
