Judean Mountains
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The Judean Mountains (Hebrew: הרי יהודה Transliteration: Harei-Yehuda; commonly referred to in English as Hills of Judea) is the mountain range on which Jerusalem, the capital city of Israel, is located. Running generally north-south, the mountains extend both to the west and east of Jerusalem. Other important cities in the mountain range are Hebron, Bethlehem and Ramallah. The range forms a natural division between the Shephelah/Sharon coastal plains to the west and the Jordan Rift Valley to the east.
In prehistoric times, animals no longer found in the region were found here, including elephants, rhinoceri, giraffes and water buffalo.[1] The range has karst topography including a stalactite cave in Nahal Sorek National Park between Jerusalem and Bet Shemesh and the area surrounding Ofra, where fossils of prehistoric flora and fauna were found.
The Judean Mountains have one train line which climbs up from Bet Shemesh along the Brook of Sorek into Jerusalem's southern train station. Currently, a plan for development of the Judean Mountains region is in progress.
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