Galilee

==Borders and geography==
[[File:Lemon Orchard in the Galilee by David Shankbone.jpg|250px|thumb|An [[orchard]] in [[Upper Galilee]]]]
The borders of Galilee, split into [[Upper Galilee]] and [[Lower Galilee]], were described by [[Josephus]] in his ''[[The Jewish War]]'':<ref name=Zange>{{cite book|author1=Jürgen Zangenberg|author2=Harold W. Attridge|author3=Dale B. Martin|title=Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity in Ancient Galilee: A Region in Transition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_N56Rnsm1DUC&pg=PA84|year=2007|publisher=Mohr Siebeck|isbn=978-3-16-149044-6|pages=84–}}</ref>
<blockquote>Now Phoenicia and Syria encompass about the Galilees, which are two, and called the Upper Galilee and the Lower. They are bounded toward the sun-setting, with the borders of the territory belonging to Ptolemais, and by Carmel; which mountain had formerly belonged to the Galileans, but now belonged to the Tyrians; to which mountain adjoins Gaba, which is called the City of Horsemen, because those horsemen that were dismissed by Herod the king dwelt therein; they are bounded on the south with Samaria and Scythopolis, as far as the river Jordan; on the east with Hippeae and Gadaris, and also with Ganlonitis, and the borders of the kingdom of Agrippa; its northern parts are bounded by Tyre, and the country of the Tyrians. As for that Galilee which is called the Lower, it extends in length from Tiberias to Zabulon, and of the maritime places Ptolemais is its neighbor; its breadth is from the village called Xaloth, which lies in the great plain, as far as Bersabe, from which beginning also is taken the breadth of the Upper Galilee, as far as the village Baca, which divides the land of the Tyrians from it; its length is also from Meloth to Thella, a village near to Jordan.<ref>Josephus, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0526.tlg004.perseus-eng1:3.35 J. BJ 3.35]</ref>
</blockquote>
[[File:Rainbow Cave Israel.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Keshet Cave]] (Rainbow Cave or Cave of the Arch), a [[natural arch]] on the ridge north of [[Nahal Betzet]], Galilee]]
Most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between 500 and 700&nbsp;m. Several high mountains are in the region, including [[Mount Tabor]] and [[Mount Meron]], which have relatively low temperatures and high rainfall. As a result of this climate, [[flora]] and [[fauna]] thrive in the region, while many birds annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through the [[Hula Valley|Hula]]–Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter mainly in Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and colourful wildflowers, as well as numerous towns of [[biblical]] importance, make the region a popular [[Tourism in Israel|tourist destination]].

Due to its high rainfall {{convert|900|–|1200|mm|in}}, mild temperatures and high mountains (Mount Meron's elevation is 1,000–1,208&nbsp;m), the upper Galilee region contains some distinctive flora and fauna: prickly juniper (''[[Juniperus oxycedrus]]''), Lebanese cedar (''[[Cedrus libani]]''), which grows in a small grove on Mount Meron, [[cyclamen]]s, [[Peony|paeonias]], and ''[[Rhododendron ponticum]]'' which sometimes appears on Meron.

Western Galilee ({{lang-he|גליל מערבי|Galil Ma'aravi}}) is a modern term referring to the western part of the Upper Galilee and its shore, and usually also the northwestern part of the Lower Galilee, mostly overlapping with Acre sub-district. [[Galilee Panhandle]] is a common term referring to the "panhandle" in the east that extends to the north, where Lebanon is to the west, and includes [[Hula Valley]] and [[Naftali Mountains|Ramot Naftali mountains]] of the Upper Galilee.