| Mount Meron | |
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| Har Merón • Jábal al-Jármaq | |
Northern slopes of Mt. Meron after the 2006 Lebanon War |
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| Elevation | 1,208 m (3,963 ft) |
| Location | |
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Mount Meron
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Mount Meron (Hebrew: הר מירון, Har Meron; Arabic: جبل الجرمق, Jabal al-Jarmaq)[1] is a mountain in Israel 1,208 metres (3,963 ft) above sea level. It is the highest mountain in Israel within the Green Line or the second highest point when including the Israeli-annexed part of the Golan Heights, which encompass the southern slopes of Mount Hermon. The mountain has special significance in Jewish popular religious traditions and parts of it are a nature reserve.
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In 1965, an 84000-dunam nature reserve was declared. An additional 1199 dunams were declared part of the reserve in 2005.[2] It is the largest and highest reserve in Israel, at an altitude of 1208 meters above sea level.[3].
the mountain surrounded by several historical Palestinian villages,it was destroyed by the Israel army after 1948 war. The village of Meron is on its slopes as well as the adjacent Jewish holy site (especially to Orthodox Jews) of the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Leading up to the anniversary of his death on Lag B'Omer, thousands of people camp out along the slopes near the tomb, and on Lag B'Omer itself, hundreds of thousands make pilgrimages to celebrate the occasion.
The mountain has a strong undergrowth and it cannot be walked up from every direction. The main path starts at the north west side of the Meron village. There is a gate next to the road, with a color-marked path of about 10 km. There is also a path on the west side of the mountain, but it is not easy to reach by public transport.
Mt Meron has a Mediterranean climate (koppen Csa) with hot and dry summers and damp and cool winters. It snows on Mt Meron a few times each year but the snow usually doesn't stay on the ground for more than a few days. There are 22 days a year with a temperature of 32C or higher on Mt Meron and 28 days below freezing. Note: the below climate chart is an average of only 5 years so the record highs and lows may not be fully accurate. Also, the site doesn't give accurate rainfall information so there isn't any rainfall data in the below table.
| Climate data for Mount Meron (2002-2007) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
22 (72) |
18 (64) |
26 (79) |
32 (90) |
32 (90) |
33 (91) |
36 (97) |
33 (91) |
28 (82) |
26 (79) |
20 (68) |
36 (97) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 8 (46) |
9 (48) |
11 (52) |
18 (64) |
23 (73) |
27 (81) |
29 (84) |
30 (86) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
20 (68) |
12 (54) |
20.0 (68.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 6 (43) |
6 (43) |
7 (45) |
13 (55) |
18 (64) |
21 (70) |
23 (73) |
24 (75) |
21 (70) |
20 (68) |
16 (61) |
9 (48) |
15.3 (59.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 4 (39) |
3 (37) |
4 (39) |
8 (46) |
13 (55) |
15 (59) |
17 (63) |
18 (64) |
16 (61) |
15 (59) |
12 (54) |
6 (43) |
10.9 (51.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −2 (28) |
−8 (18) |
3 (37) |
7 (45) |
11 (52) |
15 (59) |
13 (55) |
13 (55) |
11 (52) |
5 (41) |
−8 (18) |
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| Source: [4] | |||||||||||||
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