Golan, Israel

The Galilee is a large region overlapping with much of the North District of Israel. It is traditionally divided into three regions: Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee, Western Galilee. The Galilee includes more than one-third of present-day Israel, traditionally defined as extending from Biblical Dan on the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa on the south, and from the Jordan Valley on the east across the plains of the Jezreel Valley and Akko to the shores of the Mediterranean on the west. The Western Galilee, also called the "Northern Coastal Plain", stretches from north of Haifa up to Rosh HaNikra on the Israel-Lebanon border. The Lower Galilee reaches from Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa in the south to the Beit HaKerem Valley in the north. Its eastern border is the Jordan River.The Upper Galilee extends from the Beit HaKerem Valley northwards into southern Lebanon. Its eastern border is the Sea of Galilee and the mountains of the Golan Heights. The "Finger of the Galilee" is a panhandle along the Hulah Valley; it contains the towns Metulla and Qiryat Shemona and the rivers of Dan and Banias. Most of the Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of about 500-700 meters. There are several high mountains such as Mount Tabor and Mount Meron. The relatively low temperatures and the large amounts of rainfall every year made the Galilee a center of flora and wildlife, and many birds annually migrate from colder climes to Africa and back through the Hulah-Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter mainly in the Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and colorful wildflowers make it a popular tourist attraction in Israel.