JORDAN RIVER

The Jordan ("the river that rushes down") is the liquid backbone of the Holy Land. The river was a dreaded barrier to be crossed back in Bible times rather than a thing of beauty to be enjoyed. It flows from the south end of the Sea of Galilee (680 feet below sea level) to the north end of the Dead Sea (1290 feet below sea level) and twists like a muddy serpent through the Jordan Valley. The river is a part of a great rift, a fissure or fault, and flows through the "deepest ditch in the world." There are many whirlpools and falling cascades along its course. We are told that a "geological spasm" caused this river and the Nile long ago. It varies in depth, depending upon rain and snow amounts, from 3 to 10 feet deep, and a breadth up to 90 or 100 feet. It is impossible to navigate due to its formation. The Jordan River is the only river in the world that flows most of its course below sea level. In air miles it is about 60 to 65 miles long but twists around enough to make its distance go some 200 miles in length. This is the river that the children of Israel had to cross. (Joshua 3) It was in this river that John the Baptist baptized Jesus. (John 1:28-34) The river contains more than 30 species of fish like those in the Nile and in African lakes of which the Jordan was once a part. There are 14 species of fish peculiar to