Hasbani River
The Hasbani (Arabic: الحاصباني / ALA-LC: al-Ḥāṣbānī; Hebrew: חצבני Ḥatzbaní) or Snir Stream (Hebrew: נחל שניר / Nahal Sənir), is the major tributary of the Jordan River. Native people in the mid-19th century knew the Hasbani as the Upper Jordan River.
| Hasbani River | |
|---|---|
Hazbani river in northern Israel | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Wazzani in Lebanon |
| • coordinates | 33°14′17″N 35°37′29″E |
| 2nd source | Haqzbieh |
| Mouth | Jordan River |
• location | Sde Nehemia kibbutz in northern Israel |
• coordinates | 33°11′15″N 35°37′10″E |
The Hasbani River derives most of its discharge from two springs in Lebanon, the Wazzani and the Haqzbieh, the latter being a group of springs on the uppermost Hasbani. The Hasbani runs for 25 mi (40 km) through the Wadi al-Taym in Lebanon before crossing the border at Ghajar and shortly after joining with the Banias and Dan Rivers at a point in northern Israel, to form the River Jordan. For about 4 km (2.5 mi) downstream of Ghajar, the Hasbani forms the border between Lebanon and the Golan Heights.
The Wazzani's and the Haqzbieh's combined discharge averages 138 million m³ per year. About 20% of the Hasbani flow emerges from the Wazzani Spring at Ghajar, close to the Lebanese-Golan Heights border, about 3 km (1.9 mi) west of the base of Mount Hermon. The contribution of the Wazzani spring is very important, since this is the only continuous year-round flow into the Hasbani, in either Lebanon or Israel.