Ayun Stream (, romanized Nahal Ayun, ''lit.'' Ayun Stream), sometimes spelled Nahal Iyyon, in ''Bureighit'', or in full Nahr Bareighit, is a

perennial stream A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

and a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

. The stream originates from two springs in the

Marjayoun Marjayoun or Jdeidet Marjayoun (: Lebanese pronunciation ), also Marj 'Ayoun, Marjuyun or Marjeyoun (lit. "meadow of springs") which reflects the area's lush landscape and abundant water resources and Jdeideh / Jdeida / Jdeidet Marjeyoun, is a m ...

(Merj 'Ayun) valley in southern

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, runs southward for seven kilometers through various irrigation ditches, then flows into

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

near Metulla, where it continues through the

Hula Valley The Hula Valley () is a valley and fertile agricultural region in northern Israel with abundant fresh water that used to be Lake Hula before it was drained. It is a major stopover for birds migrating along the Great Rift Valley between Africa ...

in the Galilee Panhandle until emptying in the

Hasbani River The Hasbani ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Ḥāṣbānī''; ''Ḥatzbaní'') or Snir Stream ( / ''Nahal Sənir''), is the major tributary of the Jordan River that flows in Lebanon, the Golan Heights and Israel. In the mid-19th century, what the Westerners wo ...

just before it reaches the Jordan River.

Course of the stream

The Nahal Ayun originates near Marj Ayun in

South Lebanon Southern Lebanon () is the area of Lebanon comprising the South Governorate and the Nabatiye Governorate. The two entities were divided from the same province in the early 1990s. The Rashaya and Western Beqaa districts, the southernmost distr ...

, flowing about 7 km through the Ayun Valley, branching into numerous irrigation channels until it enters Israel near

Metula Metula () is a town in the Northern District of Israel. It abuts the Israel-Lebanon border, and had a population of in . History Bronze and Iron Age Metula is located near the sites of the biblical cities of Dan, Abel Beth Maacah, and Ijon ...

. From there, the stream flows in a canyon channel descending from about 500 meters above sea level to about 300 meters south of Tel Abel Beit Maacah, then gradually through the Hula Valley. The significant elevation differences have formed several waterfalls along the channel, including those within the Ayun Nature Reserve. Within this reserve are four notable waterfalls (from north to south): Ayun Waterfall; the Grinding Mill Waterfal; the Ashd Waterfall; and the Furnace ( Tannur) Waterfall. Within the Hula Valley, Nahal Ayun flows westward into the Hula Basin. After the drying of the Hula, the stream was diverted into the drainage system of the valley, with little remaining of its original course. One of the drainage systems directs some of the waters of Nahal Ayun towards the Jordan River near its three sources, which is why some consider it part of the Jordan River sources. In the watershed of Nahal Ayun, an average of about 900 millimeters of rain falls annually, causing significant variations in water flow between seasons. In winter, there is often intense flooding, while in summer, flow decreases significantly as it relies mainly on springs. Most of the water is used for irrigation within Lebanon, with only a small amount reaching Israel. Even in Israel, it primarily serves agricultural irrigation near Metula, resulting in minimal flow in its lower part during the summer. To address this, the

Israel Nature and Parks Authority The Israel Nature and Parks Authority (, ; ) is an Israeli government organization that manages nature reserves and national parks in Israel, the Golan Heights and parts of the West Bank. The organization was founded in April 1998, merging two o ...

has been artificially diverting water since 2009 from boreholes in the Dan River area during the summer months.

Names

Arabic

The Arabic name is most often transliterated as "Dardara" for the upper course and "Bareighit" or "Bureighith" for the lower one. The "Memoirs of the Survey of Western Palestine", published in 1881 in connection with the maps resulting from the 1870s Survey, use a slightly different spelling; the "very large spring" of a 'Ain ed Derdarah, ''lit.'' "the spring of the ''derdârah'' (

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...

) tree", from the village of El

Khiam Al-Khiyam (; sometimes spelled Khiam) is a large town and municipality in the Nabatieh Governorate of Southern Lebanon. Etymology According to Edward Henry Palmer, the name means tents. Haifa Nassar, a Khiyam-based journalist, cites sources that ...

, is mentioned to create a "strong stream", that once it's enhanced by the waters of '' 'Ain Hosh'' (Hosh Spring) becomes Nahr Bareighit, ''lit.'' "the river of fleas". However, the Survey map actually uses another name altogether for the upper course, Wadi el Kharrar, "the valley of the murmuring water". This seems to be either a typo, or a lesser-used name, since the index list of the Memoirs is sending under "Wadi el Kharrar", to page 36, where the name Wadi el Kharrar doesn't appear at all; instead, on that page there is an explanation regarding names omitted from the map due to lack of space - but this doesn't apply either, since the name "Wadi Kharrar" appears very well visible on Sheet 2 / Qb across the Merj 'Ayun plain.

Nature reserve

During the rainy winter months the water-flow is strongest. During the summer months, water is diverted for crop irrigation close to the stream's springs. Differences in elevation form waterfalls along the stream. These falls were declared a nature reserve, and include: * Tahana ("flourmill") waterfall, 21 m highNahal Ayun
at israelandyou.com, 23 October 2017. Retrieved 18 Dec 2021. * Eshed ("cascades") waterfall, with two steps, 9.5 m the upper fall and 5 m the bottom fall (''eshed'' as a Hebrew root means "to pour", which gave rise to the meaning of "waterfall"; also "bottom, slope, foundation, lower part". * Ayun/Iyyon waterfall, 9.2 m high * Tan(n)ur waterfall, 30 m high, named either after the '' tannur'' oven, or after the Lebanese ''tanur'' skirtYona Sabar,
Hebrew word of the week: Tannur
Jewish Journal, 20 October 2015, Tribe Media Corp., accessed 12 December 2019

Flora and fauna

Tree types in the reserve include

terebinth ''Pistacia terebinthus'' also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous shrub species of the genus '' Pistacia'', native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and ...

s (''Pistacia terebinthus''), buckthorns ('' Rhamnus lycioides''), and

maple ''Acer'' is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the soapberry family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated si ...

s (''

Acer obtusifolium ''Acer obtusifolium'', the Syrian maple, is a Middle-eastern species of maple. Description ''Acer obtusifolium'' is an evergreen maple that forms a shrub, but can also be grown into a tree to a height of about 16 feet. It has leathery foliage va ...

''). Other growth includes Spanish broom,

rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...

, cyclamen (''

Cyclamen persicum ''Cyclamen persicum'', the Persian cyclamen, is a species of flowering herbaceous perennial plant growing from a tuber, native to rocky hillsides, shrubland, and woodland up to above sea level, from south-central Turkey to the Levant. Cultivars ...

''), and ''

anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all regions except Australia, New Zealand, and ...

s''.

Grey wagtail The grey wagtail (''Motacilla cinerea'') is a member of the wagtail family, Motacillidae, measuring around 18–19 cm overall length. The species looks somewhat similar to the yellow wagtail (disambiguation), yellow wagtail but has the yello ...

s can be found during the winter months, as well as

white-throated kingfisher The white-throated kingfisher (''Halcyon smyrnensis'') also known as the white-breasted kingfisher is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia from the Sinai east through the Indian subcontinent to China and Indonesia. This kingfisher is a ...

s and

common kestrel The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus''), also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel or Old World kestrel, is a species of bird of prey, predatory bird belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family (biology), family Falconidae. ...

References