Wadi Mujib

Through the Wadi Mujib, the biblical Arnon flows, provided that he is not above the Mujib Dam falls dry at times during the summer.

Geography

During the last ice age, the water level of the Dead Sea reached 180 m below sea level, about 230 m higher than today. It flooded the lower areas of the canyon and along its shores and bays sediments were deposited. About 20,000 years ago, the climatic conditions and the water level of the Dead Sea dropped significantly altered from. The Wadi Mujib, however, was closed by a thick marl layer, so that the drain was clogged. Only in the course of time, the river was eating deeper and deeper into the sandstone and pitched the entrained minerals and sand in the Dead Sea in a huge alluvial fan from.

Mujib Reserve

The 215 km ² large reserve was created in 1987 by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature ( RSCN ) and is of regional and international importance, especially for birds to protect the reserve. It extends to the Kerak and Madaba mountains of reaching up to 900 meters above sea level. The difference in height of 1,300 meters and the year-round water flowing together from the seven tributaries, means that Wadi Mujib today a magnificent biodiversity that is still partially unexplored and not fully documented. More than 300 plant species, ten species of carnivores and numerous species of resident and migratory birds are currently known, but some of the remote mountain and valley areas are difficult to reach and therefore not fully explored. They thus offer safe havens for rare species of cats, goats and other animals. The Mujib Reserve consists of a mountainous, rocky and sparsely vegetated desert ( to 800 m), with cliffs, gorges and deep, intersected by wadis plateau. Year-round water-bearing streams flow through the wadis to the shores of the Dead Sea.

The slopes of the mountainous country are very sparsely vegetated, with a steppe-like vegetation on the high plateaus. Groundwater occurs in some places along the Dead Sea to the surface, for example, in the hot springs of Zara, which allow a lush thicket of acacia, tamarisk trees, date palms, oleanders and even a small swamp. The less severe slopes of the reserve are used by shepherds for grazing of sheep and goats.

Others

Tourism

• The hot springs of Hammamat Ma'in lie near the boundary of the reserve and be strong for tourism (recreation ) are used.
• The wadi is used for hiking and trekking tours and canyoning.

The Jordanian military is temporarily a camp in the south of the reserve.

Mujib Dam

A new large dam was completed in 2003 in the Wadi Mujib, where there is now the newly developed King Street crosses the river. As a result, a large reservoir has formed, which contained the dangerous torrents of wadis.