The Korazim Plateau (, ''Ramat Korazim'', also spelled Corazim) is a

volcanic plateau A volcanic plateau is a plateau produced by volcanic activity. There are two main types: lava plateaus and pyroclastic plateaus. Lava plateau Lava plateaus are formed by highly fluid basaltic lava during numerous successive eruptions thro ...

, located in northern

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 ...

. The plateau is bounded between by the Hula Valley in the north,

Sea of Galilee The Sea of Galilee (, Judeo-Aramaic languages, Judeo-Aramaic: יַמּא דטבריא, גִּנֵּיסַר, ), also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth ...

in the south, the mountains of the

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

to the west and by 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 ...

to the east. Se
map
at govmap.gov.il It is named after an ancient Jewish settlement also known as "

Chorazin Chorazin ( ; also Chorazain) or Korazim (; also Chorizim) was an ancient village in the Roman and Byzantine periods, best known from the Christian Gospels. It stood on the Korazim Plateau in the Upper Galilee on a hill above the northern shore ...

". The highest point is Filon Hill, which is 409 meters above sea level. The plateau is home to a few Israeli communities, including Rosh Pinna, Hatzor HaGlilit and the Bedouin town of Tuba-Zangariyye. The plateau's rural settlements make part of the regional councils of

Upper Galilee The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...

, Mevo'ot HaHermon and Emek HaYarden. Several important archaeological and historical sites are located on the plateau, including

Tel Hazor Tel Hazor (), translated in LXX as Hasōr (), and in Arabic Tell Waqqas or Tell Qedah el-Gul (), is an archaeological Tell (archaeology), tell at the site of ancient Hazor, located in the Upper Galilee, north of the Sea of Galilee, in the northe ...

Daughters of Jacob Bridge The Daughters of Jacob Bridge (, ) is a bridge that spans the last natural ford of the Jordan River between the Korazim Plateau in northern Israel and the Golan Heights. The area has been used as a crossing point for thousands of years; it wa ...

, Mount of Beatitudes and Jubb Yussef. Historically the plateau also served as a transit region for the valleys to the north and south, and the heights to the east and west. Armies passed through the plateau towards the Golan during the

Palestine Campaign The Sinai and Palestine campaign was part of the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I, taking place between January 1915 and October 1918. The British Empire, the French Third Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy fought alongside the Arab Revolt ...

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1918, the

1948 Arab–Israeli war The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

Six Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June 1967. Military hostilities broke ...

and

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

Geography

The Korazim Plateau is a distinct geographical region, that is not part of either of the regions that surround it.Stepansky (2002),
5
/ref> According to Ministry of Environmental Protection the plateau is bounded between the Safed and Naftali Mountains (west), the Hula Valley (north), the

and

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

(east) and the

, excluding the narrow coastal strip (south). Within these boundaries the region measures 117 km². The archaeological survey of the

Israel Antiquities Authority The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA, ; , before 1990, the Israel Department of Antiquities) is an independent Israeli governmental authority responsible for enforcing the 1978 Law of Antiquities. The IAA regulates excavation and conservatio ...

also included parts of the mountains to the west and the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee, bringing the total area to 135 km².

Geology and geomorphology

The term Korazim Plateau is used to define a

geomorphological Geomorphology () is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topography, topographic and bathymetry, bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. Ge ...

feature set between the Hula Basin and the Sea of Galilee. It is an elevated pressure-ridge within the

Dead Sea Transform The Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system, also sometimes referred to as the Dead Sea Rift, is a series of Fault (geology), faults that run for about 1,000 km from the Marash triple junction (a junction with the East Anatolian Fault in south ...

(DST) which acted as a barrier against the waters of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

when these flooded the lower-lying part of the DST, between what are now the Sea of Galilee and the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

, during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58transgression. The elevated Korazim block as well as the higher elevation of the Hula Basin meant that the latter did not receive any marine water during that process. Geologically, the plateau is divided into two main sections. The southern two-thirds are covered in layers of

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 ...

. The basalt area falls from a height of 409 meters above sea level to 210 meters below sea level at the coast of the Sea of Galilee. The basalt is aged between 1.6 and 2.9 million years in the northern part as measured near

Kfar HaNassi Kfar HaNassi () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, 35 km north of the Sea of Galilee, and 6 km east of Rosh Pinna (near the hilly section of Jordan River), it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee R ...

, and 3.5 to 5 million years in the lower part as measured near the village of

Korazim Korazim () is a community settlement in northern Israel. Located on the Korazim plateau to the north of the Sea of Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mevo'ot HaHermon Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The village wa ...

. Some

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and s ...

s were found near Tel Ruman, Filon Hill and probably also in Tel Nes and Tel Ya'af. The origin of the young basalt is probably from these volcanic cones, but the older part of the basalt is part of a big layer of basalt which also covers the Golan Heights and southern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

.Stepansky (2008),
271
/ref>Stepansky (2002),
11
/ref> The basalt part of the plateau is very similar to the nearby Golan with its rocky landscape, the characters of the ancient settlements found there, as well as the abundance of

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s found here. The northern third of the plateau is characterized by lower hills of

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, conglomerate and some young basalt near Yarda. The height of this part ranges between 100 and 250 meters above sea level. On this area, the city of Hazor was established, which was an important city in ancient and biblical times. Some

layers can also be found in around the banks of the Jordan River (such as the area of the

). The plateau is bounded by faults to the east (the Jordan River Valley) and to the west (on the slopes of Mount Canaan). Other signs of fracture in the basalt indicate recent tectonic activity in the region, which may be the cause of the Galilee earthquake of 1837.

Water

The rivers of the Korazim Plateau flow eastward to the Jordan River, and southward to the Sea of Galilee. The biggest river in the region is the Rosh Pinna River, which is 13 kilometer long and has a water basin of 40 square kilometers, which flows to the Jordan. Other rivers include the Mahanayim River and Tubim River, which flow to the Jordan as well, and the Korazim River, Or River and Koach River which flow to the Sea of Galilee. Next to these rivers, there are plenty of springs, around which many ancient settlements existed.Stepansky (2002), p
12–13
/ref>

Archaeology

During the 19th century, the Korazim Plateau, as well as the rest of the country, was surveyed by European explorers. French explorer

Victor Guérin Victor Guérin (; 15 September 1821 – 21 September 1890) was a French people, French intellectual, explorer and amateur archaeologist. He published books describing the geography, archeology and history of the areas he explored, which included ...

and the

PEF Survey of Palestine The PEF Survey of Palestine was a series of surveys carried out by the Palestine Exploration Fund (PEF) between 1872 and 1877 for the completed Survey of Western Palestine (SWP) and in 1880 for the soon abandoned Survey of Eastern Palestine. The ...

headed by Claude Reignier Conder and Herbert Kitchener described the various sites in the plateau. In the early 20th century the area was studied by German explorer Paul Karge and British archaeologist Francis Turville-Petre. During the late 20th century, Israeli and European archaeologists made extensive excavations in the major sites of

, Tel Kinrot and

, all on the edges of the plateau. In 1990 a systematic and extensive survey project began headed by Yosef Stepansky. on behalf of the

.Stepansky (2008), p
271–272
/ref> Although the Korazim Plateau is considered a peripheral area, during most of its history, it was a dense region as evidenced by the remains of over a hundred ancient settlements which were discovered by archaeologists. The rural basalt regions in the center and south of the plateau were inhabited by semi-nomadic people. The plateau's location allowed it to serve as a transit region for the valleys to the north and south, and the heights to the east and west.

Chalcolithic period

The plateau was first settled extensively during the

Chalcolithic The Chalcolithic ( ) (also called the Copper Age and Eneolithic) was an archaeological period characterized by the increasing use of smelted copper. It followed the Neolithic and preceded the Bronze Age. It occurred at different periods in di ...

period (4th millennium BCE). Over 25 settlements were established in that period in the plateau's basalt areas. These settlements resemble the Golan Heights, Hula Valley, and the Dalton Plateau's Chalcolithic cultures, with distinctive pottery and rectangular houses.

Bronze Age

Through the Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

settlement continued to exist only in some of the Chalcolithic sites, and a few new sites were formed, mostly in the northern part of the plateau. During Early Bronze Age II (3000–2700 BCE) the city of Hazor was first established, while in the rest of the plateau there were between 10 and 15 settlements. In that period there was a growth in the settlements in the southern slopes of the plateau on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. As Hazor grew to be one of

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

's largest and most influential cities, the settlements in the Korazim Plateau became its suburban area. During Early Bronze Age III (2700–2200 BCE), the city of Hazor grew to the size of an urban settlement with an area of between 100 and 150 dunams, while all of the plateau's settlements were depopulated. During Middle Bronze Age I (2200–2000 BCE), Hazor shrank to a small village, while in the plateau there was only one settlement in Khirbet Berech. In that period hundreds of megalithic tombs called "

Dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

s" were built in the southern part of the plateau. During Middle Bronze Age II (2000–1550 BCE) the size of Hazor reached its peak as a metropolis of 800 to 1000 dunams. Some 15 to 20 small villages existed on the plateau during that period, most of which next to springs. In total their combined size was between 100 and 150 dunams. During the Late Bronze Age (1550–1200 BCE), the city of Hazor became smaller but still was the largest in Canaan at 700–800 dunams. Only two settlements existed in Tel Kinnarot and Kfar Nahum.

Iron Age

After the

Late Bronze Age collapse The Late Bronze Age collapse was a period of societal collapse in the Mediterranean basin during the 12th century BC. It is thought to have affected much of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East, in particular Egypt, Anatolia, the Aegea ...

and during Iron Age I (1200–1000 BCE) the city of Hazor was destroyed and replaced by a semi-nomadic settlement, while the settlement in the Korazim Plateau flourished, with 10 settlements with a combined area of 100 dunams and a city in Tel Kinnarot of 100 dunams alone. Between 1000 BCE and the

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n conquest in 733, Hazor became a royal center, while the settlement in the plateau increased with 20 settlements, some of which were fortified and they had a combined area of 200–250 dunams.Stepansky (2008), p
277–282
/ref>

Modern settlement

Because the soil is difficult to cultivate, and there is a lack of water sources, the number of settlements on the Korazim Plateau is low. These are, from north to south:

Ayelet HaShahar Ayelet HaShahar () is a kibbutz in northern Israel acquired in 1892 and settled in the second Aliyah, located on the Korazim Plateau, by the Rosh Pina – Metulla road, it is approximately south of the city of Kiryat Shmona and falls under the jur ...

, Gadot, Mishmar HaYarden,

Mahanayim Mahanayim () is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Korazim Plateau, around three kilometres northeast of Rosh Pinna, it falls under the jurisdiction of Upper Galilee Regional Council. In it had a population of . History The land on w ...

, Hatzor HaGlilit,

, Rosh Pinna, Tuba-Zangariyye, Elifelet, Karkom, Ami'ad,

, Almagor and Amnun. All of the settlements are Jewish and rural, except for the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

town of Tuba-Zangariyye.

References

Bibliography

*Yosef Stepansky (2002), "Ramat Korazim" (in Hebrew). Jerusalem
''Ariel: Journal for Knowledge of the Land of Israel: The Eastern Upper Galilee and Ramat Korazim''
edited by Gabriel Barkai and Eli Shiller. *Yosef Stepansky (2008), "Between Hatzor and Kinneret: Ramat Kozraim in the Time of the Bible" (in Hebrew). Jerusalem
''Ariel: Journal for Knowledge of the Land of Israel: In the Mountain, Shephela and Arava: Studies Served to Adam Zertal in the Thirtieth Year to the Menashe Survey''
pp. 271–289.

External links

* {{Coord, 32, 56, N, 35, 35, E, display=title Upper Galilee Geography of Northern District (Israel) Regions of Israel Chorazin Volcanic plateaus Plateaus of Asia