Dr. Shirley's Web Courses
NASA Mirror Pages
These Pages are provided primarily for students at ENMU (Eastern New Mexico University) who are enrolled in the Course REL 433 - Biblical Archaeology, given by Dr. Shirley Rollinson. They may also be used as general resource material for students taking other courses on Old or New Testament subjects, or for anyone else interested in studying the Bible.
Some of my students have had difficulty accessing the photos on the NASA site, so these pages are provided as an alternative.
Israel and Jordan
STS41G-120-0056 Dead Sea Rift Valley, Israel and Jordan October 1984
Seen from an altitude of 190 nautical miles (350 kilometers) in this near-vertical photograph, the Dead Sea Rift Valley slices south-north through the Middle East.
The surface of the Dead Sea, 1292 feet (394 meters) below sea level, is the lowest point on Earth and is a continuation of the East African Rift through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. Rift faulting connects the Dead Sea with the Jordan River Valley and through the Sea of Galilee; however, northward in Lebanon the rifting splays out into a series of north-northeast trending faults.
East of the rift are two large ancient lava fields about which little is known.
Close to the southwestern edge of the photograph, the Gaza Strip can be seen near the border between Egypt and Israel.
