Nahal Taninim

Nahal Taninim (Hebrew: נחל תנינים‎, lit. 'Crocodile Stream') or Wadi az-Zarka (Arabic: وَادِي الزرقاء‎, lit. 'Blue Stream') is a river in Israel near the Arab town Jisr az-Zarqa, originating near Ramot Menashe and emptying into the Mediterranean Sea south of Ma'agan Michael. It marks the southern limit of the Hof HaCarmel, or Carmel Coastal Plain region.

Nahal Taninim

Etymology

The river is named for the Nile crocodiles that inhabited the nearby Kebara swamps until the early 20th century. The last recorded sighting of a crocodile was in 1912.[1] The remains of Crocodilopolis, Greek for "Crocodile City", a city established there in the fourth century BCE, are still visible today.[1]

History

The name River of Crocodiles dates as far back as the Third Crusade, during which the crocodiles devoured two knights who were bathing in the river.[2]

Hydrology

The area of the basin and its tributaries is about 200 square kilometers, including the Taninim, Ada, Barkan, Alona and Mishmarot streams. Nahal Taninim is the cleanest of Israel's coastal rivers.[1] Three waterways meet in Nahal Taninim: the natural stream, a Roman aqueduct extending from the Zabrin springs to Caesarea, and Mifale Menashe, the waterworks that collect surface runoff water and springwater, routing it into the subterranean water table.[3]

Flora and fauna

The dense undergrowth and reeds along Nahal Taninim are home to many different birds, among them waterside warblers and other songbirds.[4]

See also

References
  1. One of the last clean rivers in Israel, Jerusalem Post, 30 January 2014
  2. T.A. Archer (1889). The Crusade of Richard I. G. P. Putnam's Sons. p. 142.
  3. Nahal Taninim Master plan
  4. Birding along the Mediterranean

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