Structure of the Sea of Galilee and Kinarot Valley derived from combined geological geophysical analysis

Abstract

The Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret) is located in northern Israel in an area of complex tectonic setting where the Dead Sea Fault (DSF) (Figure 1) crosscuts other fault systems. This transform is more than 1000 km long, and is a plate boundary separating the Sinai and Arabian plates (Garfunkel et al., 1981). This lake is located with a larger Kinneret - Bet Shean basin which is a part of a series of rhomb-shaped grabens (pull apart basins) along the DSF (Freund et al., 1970). The lake is the main source of fresh water in Israel with an average surface of 166 km2 and an average volume of 4·109m3. Maximal depths of the lake (about 50 m) are located in the NE part of the basin (Figure 1C). The present configuration of Lake Kinneret was formed about 24,000 years ago (Hazan et al.,, 2005). Geological studies indicate that rock outcrops in this area and rock samples discovered in wells surrounding the lake range from Jurassic to Quaternary.