The Golan is considered a dormant volcanic area, which means that in the past it was actively volcanic, but today there is no volcanic activity. Volcanic activity in the Golan began 4.5-5 million years ago, when lava flows emerged from cracks in the earth and began flowing throughout the Golan, the Lower Galilee, and parts of Jordan and Syria. This series of lava flows is called “The Basalt Cover”, since it covered the entire region which was originally made of sedimentary rock (such as limestone, dolomite, and chalk). It was The Basalt Cover that created the flat plateau of the Southern Golan. In the Central and Northern Golan, there were additional volcanic eruptions throughout local geological history. These eruptions created hills, ash cones, and other various volcanic structures. The most recent volcanic eruption in the Golan took place about 100,000 years ago. Today on the Golan Heights, there are over 60 volcanic hills that were formed during those eruptions. The volcanoes of the Golan form two lines: the eastern and western volcano lines. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel decided to mark the border with Syria on the eastern volcano line; this allowed for good command, control, and visual lookouts on the border. This border is also known as the “Tel Line”.
One of the more fascinating volcanic phenomena in the Golan is that of hexagon basalt pillars. The most beautiful hexagon pillars can be seen in the Hexagon Pool Nature Reserve. After a 20-minute walk (of intermediate-to-hard difficulty), you will arrive at the scenic pool (https://did.li/VyxIw). On your way out, it takes another 20 or so minutes to hike back up the trail.
When the lava flows on the earth’s surface and cools slowly on relatively flat land, it forms into six-sided pillars (“hexagonal colonnades”). Hexagons are the most energy-conserving form in nature, with minimal material waste, when bunched together.
The Jubot in the Odem Forest are another unique phenomenon. There are 23 natural pits in the Odem Forest called Jubot (“Juba” in Arabic means “pit”). The circumference of the biggest Juba in the Odem Forest is 250 meters, with a depth of 60 meters. One can walk to the Big Juba Lookout Point on a convenient circular path that is paved (https://did.li/VyxIw).
The high ash cones of the Golan (such as Mt. Avital, Mt. Bental, Yosifun, and Mt. Shifon) are built from scoria (light and reddish volcanic rock). The magma that erupted out of the belly of the earth contained lava and volcanic gasses. The gasses were trapped in the molten material, and when it cooled off, it became light and airy volcanic rock. In the Golan there are a number of quarries that mine this scoria for various purposes (i.e., raised crop beds, garden use, paving streets, etc.). One of the first factories founded in the Golan was Merom Golan Tuff. “Tuff” is the laymen’s term for the quarried volcanic rock, but the correct term is “scoria” (tuff is actually fine volcanic ash that is smaller than 2 centimeters).
From the peak of Mt. Bental, one can get a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape – Mt. Hermon, the Upper Galilee, the Hula Valley, and the border with Syria (https://did.li/QPIaa).
Today one of the issues in the Golan is the tension between conservation and development, including the scars that the volcanic quarries have left in the landscape. Two of the scoria quarries that were active in the past, have been “rehabilitated” by the Quarry Rehabilitation Fund, for the good of the general public: the Avital Quarry (The Avital Volcanic Park) and AmphiGolan.
Will the Golan volcanoes erupt again in the future? A dormant volcano is not extinct and could always re-erupt…so only the future will tell…
