The Sea of Galilee or commonly referred to as Lake Tiberias, or Kinneret in Hebrew, is a freshwater lake in Israel. This 21 km long, 13 km wide lake is located at an altitude of 209 - 215 meters below sea level. It is the lowest freshwater lake in the world.
The surface area of Lake Tiberias is about 166.7 km². The average depth of this lake is approximately 25.6 meters, and the maximum depth is not less than 43 meters. This monomictic type lake has a 53 km long beach.
Lake Tiberias is located in the northeastern region of Israel, between the Galilee region and the Golan Heights. The lake is located in an area known as the Jordan Rift Valley. A valley formed by the separation of the African Plate and the Arabian Plate.
Lake Tiberias gets its water supply from the Upper Jordan River, which is the only river flowing into this lake. The lake holds a volume of water of 4 km³, and is a very important source of fresh water for Israel.
Lake Tiberias had experienced severe drought many times. In November 2001, the water of this lake had decreased to 214.87 meters below sea level.
Israel is very dependent on Lake Tiberias, as a result of which the lake's water continued to decline, until it peaked in 2017, where the average lake water level was at a dangerous level, which is about 214 meters below sea level.
Even in December 2017, the water level of Lake Tiberias reached 214,395 meters below sea level.
Small Island in the Middle of Lake Tiberias |
Due to the receding lake water, a small island slowly appeared on the surface of the lake. The unknown island raises concerns, if Lake Tiberias really dries up and disappears, leaving a large basin with a small land in the middle.
Fortunately in 2018, the water volume of Lake Tiberias began to increase. The water level of the lake continues to increase until 2022. In fact, in April 2022 the surface level of Lake Tiberias is only about 209.015 m below sea level, which means an increase of more than 5 meters from 2017.