Some vistas on a clear day

Last Shabbat was a beautifully clear day here in northern Israel, so we took a drive. Along the way, I snapped a number of pictures of scenery, taking advantages of the clear conditions. This first picture is a view of almost the entire Kinneret (the "Sea of Galilee") as seen from a viewpoint on the road between Tsfat and Rosh Pinna.

We drove down to the Kinneret and around on the east side. The next view is from a point just above the eastern shore of the Kinneret. Here, we are looking northwest towards Har Meron (Mt. Meron, the purplish range on the left) and Tsfat (which is on the hill to the right of Har Meron. Har Meron is actually higher, but it's a little further away, so it doesn't seem higher in this photo.

Here's a 2nd view from the same point, looking west towards the city of T'verya (Tiberias) and the cliffs of Arbel:

From that viewpoint, we continued southwards. When we came to the road that runs east-west at the southern end of the Kinneret, we turned left (eastward). This road begins to climb along the northern side of the Yarmoch River valley. The border between Israel and Jordan follows this river in this area. A short distance before the end of this road, there is a road that climbs very steeply up to the southern end of the Golan and has many very sharp switchback corners. About halfway up this road, we stopped at a viewpoint (which is also an old military post dug into the ground). The rest of the pictures are all taken from there.

This first picture is a view to the west. In it, you can see the southern end of the Kinneret and the fertile Jordan River Valley just south of it.

Here's a view to the southeast. In it, you can see Hamat HaGader, the green area just below the center of the picture; some of the switchbacks that I mentioned earlier (in the lower part of the view); and a Jordanian town above and beyond Hamat HaGader. The border between Israel and Jordan runs right next to Hamat HaGader, which is a hotspring area. Although we haven't yet visited there, we have been told they they also have a small zoo there, including crocodiles!

Here's the view towards the southwest, showing the end of the Yarmoch River Valley, where it joins the Jordan River Valley. You can seen the green strip that marks the course of the Yarmoch River in the lower part of the picture. Note the cliffs on the Israeli side, with the road we had traveled running right along the edge. You can also see a Jordanian road running along the other side.