PALESTINE, pal'js-tin ( Lat. Pabrstinoi, from Gk. IlaXawrivn, Pa(aistin:', from Deb. POishti, Philistine, from pribish, to wander about). A name originally applied to the eoast land oecu pied by the Philistines, but later used in a wider sense to denote the Laud of Israel. The exact limits of Palestine, taking the term in its ordi nary wider significanee. are somewhat hard to fix. A line drawn from the deep gorge of the Leontes (the modern Litany or Kasimiyelt), as it turns abruptly to the we,t to reach the sea, eastward across the valley to Mount Ilermont will give a satisfactory northern boundary; simi larly, a line from Mount Hermon due south to the parallel of the southern end of the Dead Sea will indicate the eastern limit: the southern boundary may be marked by a line froth the south end of the Dead Sea Inci west to the terranean. The territory thus hounded extends about 150 miles north and south, the breadth ranging from about 35 miles at the extreme north to 110 in the south. The west-Jordan portion varies in breadth from 23 to SO miles. In other words. Palestine lies between latitudes 31° and 33° 20' N., and extends from the sea to about longitude 35° 43' E. of Greenwich. The west-Jordan portion comprises something over 6000 square miles, that east of the Jordan some what more than 3000 spin re miles.
PursitAL FEATURES. The physical features of Palestine are very marked. The most peculiar and important of these is the remarkable de pression through which flows the Jordan (q.v.). This depression is due to a geological disturbance at the end of the Pleiocene period. when the whole plateau east of the Mediterranean then under water was rent in two from north to south as far as the Red sea. In Palestine the strata just west of the fault broke and fell with a strong dip toward the deep valley thus formed. nearly the whole course of the Jordan, and to a short distance south of the Dead Sea. this valley is lower than the level of the Mediterranean. The waters of Alerom (Lake 1]uleh1 arc about seven feet above sea-level. the surface of the Sea of Galilee. about 10 miles farther south, is 682 feet below the sea, while the surface of the Dead Sea, 65 miles south of the Sea of Galilee, lies 1292 feet below sea-level. with the bottom 1300 feet lower still. The sur face of Palestine may be divided, roughly speak hie. into four parallel zones—the seacoast plain, the hills and mountains west of the Jordan, the valley of the Jordan. and the -plateau region east of the great depression.
This whole region consists of a series of lime stone formations over Nubian sandstone. The upper strata arc soft and porous. except where worn away by erosion. so that in many ph
water can he obtained only from very d .ve wells. Where the harder strata are neirer 11' .2 surface. springs abound. In the Jordan Valley and in many parts of the east-Jordan land hot springs exist. These show that the ancient volcanic activity, evidenced not only by many earthquakes recorded in history, but especially by the great lava plateau (with many extinct vo1e:umes) which stretches from the Sea of Galilee to the Daman (q.v.), is not yet entirely quiescent.
The hilly range west of the Jordan, in striking contrast to eastern plateau. is broken and irregular in character. It may be divided into several dist Met regions. Beginning at the ex treme south, we have the 'Negeb' or 'south' re gion (literally the dry or parched land), a desert tableland, 1500-2000 feet above sea level, inter sected by wadies or ravines running east toward the Dead Sea or northwest toward the Mediter ranean. The largest of these is the Wady es-Seba, Nvhich passes by ancient Beersheba and enters the :Mediterranean as Wady Ghuzzeh a few miles south of ancient Gaza.
The northern part of the Negeb is higher (about •2300 feet above sea level) and more broken. The central ridge now becomes more pronounced, and the highland or mountain region of .Judah begins. This extends as a fairly unbroken pla teau some miles north of Jerusalem. The highest portion of the Judean range is near Hebron (3370 feet). Toward Jerusalem the level sinks in places to about 2400 feet, but becomes higher as it extends north. The crest of the Judean highland averages nearly 13 miles in breadth. From it the descent to the Dead Sea, 10 or 15 miles away, is rapid, breaking down finally in precipitous cliffs. The whole region bordering on the Dead Sea is wild, barren. and rocky, intersected by countless deep ravines leading toward the sea. It was known as Jeshimoa (the desert waste), and its upper reaches nearer the central plateau formed the Wilderness of Judah with its various subdivisions, the Wilderness of Tekoa. of Jeruel, of :Ninon, etc. West of the Judean highland the country sinks gradually toward the coast plain. This of hills and valleys was known as the Shrphelah, i.e. the low land. In the more open valleys and on the hillsides both the Shephelah and the central plateau are capable of high cultivation. In other parts, especially the uplands. they are more suited for pasturage. From the coast plain sev eral large valleys lead up into the interior high lands, of which those of Ajalon, of Sorel:, and of Elah have become famous as scenes of great conflicts between invaders and defenders of the uplands.