The Issachar Plateau or Issachar Heights ( he, רמת יששכר, Ramat Yissaḫar/Ramot Yissaḫar) is a

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% of a ...

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...

in the eastern part of

Lower Galilee The Lower Galilee (; ar, الجليل الأسفل, translit=Al Jalil Al Asfal) is a region within the Northern District of Israel. The Lower Galilee is bordered by the Jezreel Valley to the south; the Upper Galilee to the north, from which it is ...

. It is bounded by the

Tabor Stream Nahal Tavor ( he, נחל תבור; ar, وادي البيره, ''Wadi al-Bireh''), ''lit.'' Tabor Stream, is an intermittent stream in the Lower Galilee, Israel. Geography The stream starts in the hills of Nazareth, east of the city, and runs ...

in the north and the

Harod Valley The Harod Valley ( he, עמק חרוד, Emek Harod) is a valley in the Northern District of Israel. It is the eastern part of the Jezreel Valley,a transitional zone that extends to the Beit She'an Valley. From south it locked by Mount Gilboa and ...

in the south and Givat HaMoreh in the west and the

Jordan Valley The Jordan Valley ( ar, غور الأردن, ''Ghor al-Urdun''; he, עֵמֶק הַיַרְדֵּן, ''Emek HaYarden'') forms part of the larger Jordan Rift Valley. Unlike most other river valleys, the term "Jordan Valley" often applies just to ...

in the east. Its area is about 115 km².רמות יששכר
/ref> The plateau is named after the

Tribe of Issachar According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Issachar () was one of the twelve tribes of Israel and one of the ten lost tribes. In Jewish tradition, the descendants of Issachar were seen as being dominated by religious scholars and influential ...

. The runs across the plateau into the Jordan Valley. The plateau may be divided into three parts: רמת כוכב (Ramat Kochav, "Plateau of Stars"), רמת צבאים (Ramat Tzevaim "Plateau of Gazelles"; due to the population of

Palestine mountain gazelle The mountain gazelle (''Gazella gazella''), also called the Palestine mountain gazelle, is a species of gazelle widely but unevenly distributed. Description Mountain gazelle are one of the few mammals in which both sexes have horns. Males h ...

in the plateauקהילת הצבאים בארץ נמצאת במגמת ירידה, במיוחד ברמת הגולן
''

Ha'aretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

'', January 27, 2011), and ורמת תבור (Ramat Tavor, "Plateau of

Tabor Tabor may refer to: Places Czech Republic * Tábor, a town in the South Bohemian Region ** Tábor District, the surrounding district * Tábor, a village and part of Velké Heraltice in the Moravian-Silesian Region Israel * Mount Tabor, Galil ...

), with Issachar River separating Ramat Tzevaim from Ramat Kochav. Therefore, it is also referred in plural.

Landmarks and populated places

The

Belvoir Castle Belvoir Castle ( ) is a faux historic castle and stately home in Leicestershire, England, situated west of the town of Grantham and northeast of Melton Mowbray. The Castle was first built immediately after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and ...

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

and

archeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and ...

is a

Crusader castle Crusader or Crusaders may refer to: Military * Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades * Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber * Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II * Crusaders (guerrilla), a ...

on the eastern edge of the plateau, on the edge of Lower Galilee between 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 f ...

(20 km southwards) and

Beit She'an Beit She'an ( he, בֵּית שְׁאָן '), also Beth-shean, formerly Beisan ( ar, بيسان ), is a town in the Northern District of Israel. The town lies at the Beit She'an Valley about 120 m (394 feet) below sea level. Beit She'an is b ...

. Settlements include Moshav

Moledet Moledet ( he, מולדת, ''Homeland'') was a minor right-wing political party in Israel. History Moledet was established by Rehavam Ze'evi in 1988. It won two seats in the Knesset elections later that year, taken by Ze'evi and Yair Sprinzak. ...

Taibe Tayibe, also spelled Taibeh or Tayiba, ( ar, الطيبة, lit=the kind/benevolent, translit=aṭ-Ṭayyibah, South Levantine pronunciation: ; he, טַיִּבָּה) is an Arab city in central Israel, north east of Kfar Saba.Ramat Tzvi Ramat Tzvi ( he, רָמַת צְבִי, ''lit.'' Zvi Heights) is a moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural co ...

, Beit HaShita, Kfar Kish, Menahamiya, Gesher, Yardena, Beit Yosef, Hamadya, Neve Ur,

Sde Nahum Sde Nahum ( he, שְׂדֵה נַחוּם, ''lit.'' Nahum Field) is a kibbutz in the Beit She'an Valley in northern Israel. Located around 4 km northwest of Beit She'an, it falls under the jurisdiction of Valley of Springs Regional Council. I ...

Na'ura Na'ura ( ar, ناعورة, he, נָעוּרָה) is an Arab village located in northern Israel. Located to the east of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of the Gilboa Regional Council. In it had a population of . See also *Arab localities ...

Tamra Tamra ( ar, طمرة, he, טַמְרָה or ) is an Arab city in the North District of Israel located in the Lower Galilee north of the city of Shefa-Amr and approximately east of Acre. In it had a population of . History Tamra is an ancien ...

References

Mountains of Israel {{israel-geo-stub