Hydrology

Abstract

Lake Kinneret watershed, which spans over 2,730 km2, divided between Israel, Lebanon, and Syria, incorporates four different hydrogeological units: the Jurassic mountainous karst of Mt. Hermon, the basalt plateau of the Golan Heights, the carbonaceous karst of the Eastern Galilee Mountains, and the flat alluvial Hula Valley. This chapter summarizes the hydrology of the lake in four different parts: a description of the hydrological nature of the hydrological units and quantification of their water contribution to the lake; the methods of calculating the annual water balance and their changes during the course of the years; the lake level fluctuations and definitions as a result of historical anthropogenic changes; and an overview of hydrological modeling, both surface water and ground water, of the various hydrogeological units.