Nahal Kziv (lit. "Kziv stream") is a 20-kilometer long perennial stream

Perennial stream

A perennial stream or perennial river is a stream or river that has continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal rainfall. "Perennial" streams are contrasted with "intermittent" streams which normally cease flowing for weeks or months each year, and with "ephemeral"...

 in the Upper Galilee

Upper Galilee

The Upper Galilee is a geographical-political term in use since the end of the Second Temple period, originally referring to a mountainous area overlapping the present northern Israel and southern Lebanon, its borders being the Litani river in the north, the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Beit...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. During the winter, rainfall fills the channel, and springs along the riverbed add to the flow. Currently, Mekorot

Mekorot

Mekorot is the national water company of Israel and the country's top agency for water management.Mekorot was founded in 1937. It supplies 90% of Israel's drinking water and 80% of its water supplies. The company runs 3,000 installations throughout the country for water supply, water quality,...

 (the national water company) pumps the water of the river's principal spring, Ein Ziv, and supplies it to the residents of the Western Galilee, making the channel between Ein Ziv and Ein Tamir an intermittent stream. On the ridge above the valley sits a 12th century Crusader

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

 castle, Montfort

Montfort Castle

Montfort is a ruined crusader castle in the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, about 22 miles northeast of the city of Haifa and 10 miles south of the border with Lebanon....

.

Geography

Nahal Kziv flows from the western side of Mount Meron near Beit Jann

Beit Jann

Beit Jann is a Druze village on Mt. Meron, in northern Israel. At 940 meters above sea level, Beit Jann is one of the highest inhabited locations in the country. In 2007, the population was 10,300. The mayor of Beit Jann is Youssef Qabalan.-History:...

, westward to its estuary

Estuary

An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....

, north of and Achziv. It is the longest stream in the Galilee, with the widest drainage basin. The channel passes nearby Hurfeish

Hurfeish

Hurfeish is a Druze local council in the Northern District of Israel. It was declared a local council in 1967. according to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics it had in 2006 a total population of 5,200, with a growth rate of 1.9%....

, Abirim

Abirim

Abirim is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located in the Upper Galilee, three kilometres from Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 209....

, Mi'ilya

Mi'ilya

-Bibliography:*Abu-‘Uqsa, Hanaa  : Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 117.*Conder, Claude Reignier and H.H. Kitchener : . London:Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund. vol 1, London,...

, Mitzpe Hila

Mitzpe Hila

Mitzpe Hila is a communal town in northern Israel. Located in the western Galilee hills near the Lebanese border, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 572....

, Neve Ziv

Neve Ziv

Neve Ziv , also known as Ziv HaGalil is a communal settlement in northern Israel. Located east of Nahariya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 521....

, Goren

Goren

Goren is a moshav in northern Israel. Located in the Western Galilee near Ma'alot-Tarshiha, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 438....

, Manot

Manot, Israel

Manot is an moshav in northern Israel. Located near Shlomi, it falls under the jurisdiction of Ma'ale Yosef Regional Council. In 2006 it had a population of 360....

, and Ma'alot-Tarshiha

Ma'alot-Tarshiha

Ma'alot-Tarshiha is a mixed city in the North District in Israel, some 20 km east of Nahariya, about 600 meter above sea level. The city was established in 1963 through a municipal merger of the Arab town of Tarshiha and the Jewish town of Ma'alot...

. Springs along the channel include:

• Ein Ziv
• Ein Tamir (after which the stream becomes perennial).
• Ein Hardalit
• Ein Yakim

Nature reserve

Most of the stream is part of a nature reserve that bears its name, and includes the Montfort Castle and other Crusader

Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...

-period ruins. A stone carving of a man, 1.78 m high can be found near where the Abirim stream empties into Nahal Kziv. The carving is thought to date from the Hellenistic period

Hellenistic period

The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...

.

Flora in the area includes Lilium candidum, Rubus

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

 sanguineus, Nerium oleander, Platanus orientalis

Platanus orientalis

Platanus orientalis, or the Oriental plane, is a large, deciduous tree of the Platanaceae family, known for its longevity and spreading crown. The species name derives from its historical distribution eastward from the Balkans, where it was recognized in ancient Greek history and literature....

, Artemisia arborescens, and Fern

Fern

A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...

s. Persian fallow deer

Persian fallow deer

The Persian Fallow Deer is a rare ruminant mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Its taxonomic status is disputed, with some maintaining it as a subspecies of the Fallow Deer, while other treat it as a separate species, Dama mesopotamica.-Description:Persian fallow deer are bigger than Fallow...

were brought to the area in 1996, as part of an effort to prevent extinction of the species.

External links

• Hikes in Nahal Kziv