Hurshat Tal
Encyclopedia
Hurshat Tal is a national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 and nature reserve in the North District
North District (Israel)
The Northern District is one of Israel's six administrative districts. The Northern District has a land area of 4,478 km², which increases to 4,638  km² when both land and water are included...

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

. In 1968, 765 dunam
Dunam
A dunam or dönüm, dunum, donum, dynym, dulum was a non-SI unit of land area used in the Ottoman Empire and representing the amount of land that can be plowed in a day; its value varied from 900–2500 m²...

s were declared national park lands (visitor facilities occupying approximately 250 dunams) and 107 dunams were declared a nature reserve.

National Park

Hurshat Tal is located on Highway 99, east of Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona
Kiryat Shmona is a city located in the North District of Israel on the western slopes of the Hula Valley on the Lebanese border. The city was named for the eight people, including Joseph Trumpeldor, who died in 1920 defending Tel Hai....

, in the northern part of the Hula Valley. The recreation and camping grounds offer bungalos and cabins. A flowing stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

s branching from the Dan River
Dan River (Israel)
The Dan River is the largest tributary of the Jordan river, whose source is located at the base of Mount Hermon. The river is so named after the Israelite city of Dan, which was captured by the Tribe of Dan during the Judges period. The tribe of Dan conquered the city, then named Laish and then...

, crosses the site, and a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...

 with water slides is fed by these waters. A fishing park is also open to visitors.

The Hebrew name of the site is taken from referring to the "dew of Hermon".

Nature Reserve

The reserve was declared mainly to protect the 240 old Valonia oak trees (Quercus macrolepis
Quercus macrolepis
Quercus macrolepis, the Valonia oak, is a tree in the family Fagaceae.It is found in the Southern Mediterranean, in the Balkans including the Greek Islands, in Morocco, and in Asia Minor.-Description:...

). These trees survived for many years as part of a local Arab holy site. Some of the trees are 350-400 years old. Local folklore tells that 10 of Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

's cohorts stopped nearby to rest, but could not find trees to which to tie their horses. They stuck their sticks into the ground, which became the roots of the trees in the area. The story is reflected in the Arabic name for the site, Sejrat el-Asara ("Grove of the Ten").
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