Sea of Galilee

Where is Sea of Galilee?

Countries on its shores: Israel.

Largest lake of: Israel.

Middle of the lake: 32.83° N, 35.58° E

The story behind it

Although it is called a sea, the Sea of Galilee is really a lake of fresh water. It is shaped a bit like a pear, about 21 km long and 13 km wide, and it is up to about 43 metres deep. The Jordan River flows in from the north and leaves again in the south. Because the lake lies in a deep valley, its surface is more than 200 metres below sea level – only the salty Dead Sea lies lower. The water level rises and falls with rain and dry years, so its area changes a little. Fishermen catch a fish called St. Peter's fish here, and the town of Tiberias stands on the western shore. The Sea of Galilee is Israel's largest freshwater lake. Only a small share of the salty Dead Sea belongs to Israel, so the Sea of Galilee is also the largest lake in the country.

Find it on the globe

Sea of Galilee is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.