Galilee, Sea of (redirected from Sea of Galilee)

Galilee, Sea of, Lake Tiberias (tībĭr`ēəs), or Lake Kinneret (kĭn`ərĕt'), lake, 64 sq mi (166 sq km), 14 mi (23 km) long, and 3 to 7 mi (4.8–11.3 km) wide, NE Israel; its surface is c.700 ft (210 m) below sea level. The lake, occupying a downwarped basin, is fed and drained by the Jordan River. The Syria border follows part of the eastern shore, now occupied by Israel as part of the Golan Heights. Mineral springs, some of them hot, discharge into the lake, giving it a saline character. Israel's National Water Carrier Project uses the Sea of Galilee as a reservoir for water pumped south, via the National Water Conduit, to the Negev desert for irrigation and to the coastal plain to recharge the overdrawn watertable. However, despite the project, Israel's water supply in the late 20th cent. was restricted by a drop in the water level due to seasonal drought and increasing demand. In the time of Jesus there was a flourishing fishing industry in the lake; some fishing is still carried on. In the Old Testament the Sea of Galilee was called the Sea of Chinnereth or Chinneroth. In the New Testament it is named variously from nearby geographical features—Galilee, Gennesaret, or Tiberias.

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Galilee, Sea of 

(Lake Tiberias, Lake of Gennesaret, Bahr Tabariya), a lake in the historical region of Palestine within the state of Israel; part of the eastern shore forms part of the border between Syria and Israel. The Sea of Galilee is situated in the northern part of the Ghor (Al-Ghor) tectonic basin at an elevation of 212 m below sea level. It covers an area of 145 sq km and reaches a depth of 48 m. The western and eastern shores are mostly steep; the northern and southern shores are gradually sloping. The Jordan River flows through the Sea of Galilee. Fish are plentiful. Navigation is local in character.

In the New Testament, the Sea of Galilee figures in many legends about Jesus Christ. In 1187, near the Sea of Galilee, the Crusaders met the Egyptian sultan Saladin in a battle that was won by the Egyptian forces.