Beersheba also spelled Beer-Sheva (Hebrew: בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, Be'er Sheva; Arabic: بئر السبع Bi'ir as-Sab) is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the center of the fourth most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth most populous city in Israel with a population of 205,810, and the second largest city with a total area of 117,500 dunams.
Beersheba has grown considerably since then. A large portion of the population is made up of the descendants of Sephardi Jews and Mizrahi Jews who immigrated from Arab countries after 1948, as well as smaller communities of Bene Israel and Cochin Jews from India. Second and third waves of immigration have taken place since 1990, bringing Russian-speaking Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union, as well as Beta Israel immigrants from Ethiopia. The Soviet immigrants have made the game of chess a major sport in Beersheba and the city is now a developing technology center. The city is now Israel's national chess center, with more chess grandmasters per capita than any other city in the world.
Geography[]
Beersheba is located on the northern edge of the Negev desert 71 miles (114.26 kilometers) south-east of Tel Aviv and 75 miles (120.7 kilometers) south-west of Jerusalem. The city is located on the main route from the center and north of the country to Eilat in the far south. The Beersheba Valley has been populated for thousands of years, as it has available water, which flows from the Hebron hills in the winter and is stored underground in vast quantities. The main river in Beersheba is Nahal Beersheva, a wadi that floods in the winter. The Kovshim and Katef streams are other important wadis that pass through the city. Beersheba is surrounded by a number of satellite towns, including Omer, Lehavim, and Meitar, and the Bedouin localities of Rahat, Tel as-Sabi, and Lakiya. Just north west of the city (near Ramot neighborhood ) is a region called Goral hills (heb:גבעות גורל lit: hills of fate), the area have hills with up to 1,600 feet (487.68 meters) above sea level and low as 980 feet (298.7 meters) above sea level. Due to heavy construction the flora unique to the area is endangered. North east of the city (north to the Neve Menahem neighborhood) there are Loess plains and dry river bands.
Climate[]
Beersheba has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh) with Mediterranean influences. The city has both characteristics of Mediterranean and desert climates. Summers are hot and dry, and winters are mild. Rainfall is highly concentrated in the winter season, even more so than other cities with a similar climate such as Almería in southern Spain. In summer, the temperatures are high in daytime and nighttime with an average high of 34.7 °C (94 °F) and an average low of 21.4 °C (71 °F). Winters have an average high of 17.7 °C (64 °F) and average low of 7.1 °C (45 °F). Snow is very rare; a snowfall on February 20th, 2015 was the first such occurrence in the city since 1992.
Precipitation in summer is rare, the most rainfalls come in winter between September to May, but the annual amount is low, averaging 195.1 millimeters (7.7 in) per year. Sandstorms, haze and fog are common, especially in winter, as a result of the high humidity.
Sister/Twin Cities[]
Seattle, America
La Plata
Parramatta, Australia
Montreal, Canada- Winnipeg, Canada
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Lyon, France
- Rosenheim, Germany
- Wuppertal, Germany
- Bouaké, Ivory Coast
- Cebu City, Philippines
- Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- Oni, Soviet Union
- Adana, Turkey
- Niš, Yugoslavia
