Where is the Negev located?

The Negev is an arid region in southern Israel, occupying almost half of Palestine west of the Jordan River and about 60 percent of Israeli territory. It is shaped like a triangle with its apex in the south, bounded by the Sinai Peninsula to the west and the Jordan Valley to the east. The northern boundary, where the Negev blends into the coastal plain, the Judaean Hills, and the Wilderness of Judaea, is not clearly defined. The Negev comprises the southern half of Israel and narrows southward into a flat, sandy desert of sandstone hills, canyons, and cliffs that extends to the Red Sea port of Eilat.

What type of environment does the Negev have?

The Negev is an arid region, but should be considered semiarid rather than a true desert. In the northern Negev near Beersheba, rainfall ranges from 8 to 12 inches (200 mm to 305 mm) annually, which allows unirrigated grain farming. Rainfall decreases further south. The central Negev plateau receives only 3–4 inches (76–102 mm), and rainfall is negligible at the southern tip in Elat. The amount of rainfall can also vary considerably from year to year. Wild desert scrub grows in the Negev, and the area is heavily dissected by seasonal watercourses called wadis, which are subject to flash floods in the winter rainy season. The southern Negev is mainly sandstone rock with veins of granite, while the northern parts of the arid Negev have windblown loess soils.

What are some important cities or towns in the Negev?

The Negev is an arid region encompassing about half of Israel. Several cities and towns have been established in the Negev, especially after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. Key urban centers include: Beersheba As the "capital of the Negev," it is the largest city in Israel outside the Tel Aviv–Yafo, Jerusalem, and Haifa metropolitan areas and serves as the region's administrative, cultural, and industrial center. `Arad Founded in 1961, `Arad is a residential community that supports the Dead Sea Works. The area has valuable mineral resources, including phosphate and natural gas. Dimona Established in 1955, Dimona was initially a residential center for workers at the Dead Sea Works. It has since grown to house workers from nearby phosphate mines and includes textile mills and porcelain manufacturing. Elat This port city provides Israel's access to the Red Sea.

What plants and animals live in the Negev?

The Negev region is an arid area, but it is not considered a desert. Desert scrub grows in the Negev, and where there is irrigation, crops, fruit, and vegetables can flourish. Animal life in the Negev includes mammals like wildcats , gazelles , ibex , jackals , and hyenas . Reptiles include geckos and vipers . More than 400 species of birds have been identified in the region, including the partridge , sand grouse , and desert lark . The jerboa , a desert-dwelling rodent, also inhabits this area.

How do people get water and grow food in the Negev?

In the Negev desert, agriculture is possible through irrigation and technology. The National Water Plan uses pipelines and conduits to bring water from northern and central Israel to the northwestern Negev, irrigating fertile soil for crops. Additionally, the exploitation of mineral resources has contributed to the region's economy. The Sea of Galilee became the starting point of the National Water Carrier, which conveys water from the Jordan River to Israel’s populated coastal region and the Negev desert. With irrigation, combined with year-round sunlight, the area produces crops, fruits, and vegetables, and double-cropping is not uncommon.

Why is the Negev important to Israel’s history and development?

The Negev is vital to Israel's history and development because it constitutes about 60 percent of Israel's territory. Modern agricultural development started in 1943 with collective settlements, and large-scale irrigation projects began after World War II. After Israel's creation in 1948, the country realized the importance of developing this large area. Water pipelines from northern and central Israel irrigate the northwestern Negev, which has fertile soil. The exploitation of mineral resources such as potash, bromine, magnesium, copper, ball clay, glass sand, phosphates, and natural gas accompanied agricultural development. Urbanization followed modern settlement, including the planned cities of Beersheba, Arad, Dimona, and Elat.

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Negev summary

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Also spelled:: Negeb

Hebrew:: Ha-Negev

Arabic:: Al-Naqab

Also called:: the Southland

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Negev

desert region, Israel

Also known as: Al-Naqab, Ha-Negev, Negeb, the Southland

Written and fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

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Top Questions

Where is the Negev located?
The Negev is an arid region in southern Israel, occupying almost half of Palestine west of the Jordan River and about 60 percent of Israeli territory. It is shaped like a triangle with its apex in the south, bounded by the Sinai Peninsula to the west and the Jordan Valley to the east. The northern boundary, where the Negev blends into the coastal plain, the Judaean Hills, and the Wilderness of Judaea, is not clearly defined. The Negev comprises the southern half of Israel and narrows southward into a flat, sandy desert of sandstone hills, canyons, and cliffs that extends to the Red Sea port of Eilat.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What type of environment does the Negev have?
The Negev is an arid region, but should be considered semiarid rather than a true desert. In the northern Negev near Beersheba, rainfall ranges from 8 to 12 inches (200 mm to 305 mm) annually, which allows unirrigated grain farming. Rainfall decreases further south. The central Negev plateau receives only 3–4 inches (76–102 mm), and rainfall is negligible at the southern tip in Elat. The amount of rainfall can also vary considerably from year to year. Wild desert scrub grows in the Negev, and the area is heavily dissected by seasonal watercourses called wadis, which are subject to flash floods in the winter rainy season. The southern Negev is mainly sandstone rock with veins of granite, while the northern parts of the arid Negev have windblown loess soils.
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1. Negev
2. Israel: Plant and animal life
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What are some important cities or towns in the Negev?
The Negev is an arid region encompassing about half of Israel. Several cities and towns have been established in the Negev, especially after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Key urban centers include:
- Beersheba As the "capital of the Negev," it is the largest city in Israel outside the Tel Aviv–Yafo, Jerusalem, and Haifa metropolitan areas and serves as the region's administrative, cultural, and industrial center.
- `Arad Founded in 1961, `Arad is a residential community that supports the Dead Sea Works. The area has valuable mineral resources, including phosphate and natural gas.
- Dimona Established in 1955, Dimona was initially a residential center for workers at the Dead Sea Works. It has since grown to house workers from nearby phosphate mines and includes textile mills and porcelain manufacturing.
- Elat This port city provides Israel's access to the Red Sea.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What plants and animals live in the Negev?
The Negev region is an arid area, but it is not considered a desert. Desert scrub grows in the Negev, and where there is irrigation, crops, fruit, and vegetables can flourish.

Animal life in the Negev includes mammals like wildcats, gazelles, ibex, jackals, and hyenas. Reptiles include geckos and vipers. More than 400 species of birds have been identified in the region, including the partridge, sand grouse, and desert lark. The jerboa, a desert-dwelling rodent, also inhabits this area.
5 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do people get water and grow food in the Negev?
In the Negev desert, agriculture is possible through irrigation and technology. The National Water Plan uses pipelines and conduits to bring water from northern and central Israel to the northwestern Negev, irrigating fertile soil for crops. Additionally, the exploitation of mineral resources has contributed to the region's economy.

The Sea of Galilee became the starting point of the National Water Carrier, which conveys water from the Jordan River to Israel’s populated coastal region and the Negev desert. With irrigation, combined with year-round sunlight, the area produces crops, fruits, and vegetables, and double-cropping is not uncommon.
3 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why is the Negev important to Israel’s history and development?
The Negev is vital to Israel's history and development because it constitutes about 60 percent of Israel's territory. Modern agricultural development started in 1943 with collective settlements, and large-scale irrigation projects began after World War II. After Israel's creation in 1948, the country realized the importance of developing this large area. Water pipelines from northern and central Israel irrigate the northwestern Negev, which has fertile soil.

The exploitation of mineral resources such as potash, bromine, magnesium, copper, ball clay, glass sand, phosphates, and natural gas accompanied agricultural development. Urbanization followed modern settlement, including the planned cities of Beersheba, Arad, Dimona, and Elat.
2 Britannica Sources
1. Negev
2. Israel: Urban settlement
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Negev, arid region in the southern part of Israel and occupying almost half of Palestine west of the Jordan River and about 60 percent of Israeli territory under the 1949–67 boundaries. The name is derived from the Hebrew verbal root n-g-b, “to dry” or “to wipe dry.” The Negev is shaped like a triangle with the apex at the south. It is bounded by the Sinai Peninsula (west) and the Jordan Valley (east). Its northern boundary—where the region blends into the coastal plain in the northwest, the Judaean Hills (Har Yehuda) in the north, and the Wilderness of Judaea (Midbar Yehuda) in the northeast—is indistinct. Many use an arbitrary line at about 30°25′ N latitude for the northern boundary. Within these limits, the Negev has an area of about 4,650 square miles (12,000 square km).

Geologically, the area is one of northeast–southwest folds, with many faults. Limestones and chalks predominate. A unique feature is the large elongate makhteshim, or erosion craters, surrounded by high cliffs. These were created by the erosion of upward-folded strata (anticlines) combined with horizontal stresses. The largest of these are Makhtesh Ramon, 23 miles (37 km) long and up to 5 miles (8 km) wide, and Ha-Makhtesh Ha-Gadol (the Great Crater), about 9 miles (14.5 km) long and up to 4 miles (6.4 km) wide. The floors of these craters expose chalks, marls, and gypsums geologically much older than the walls or surrounding plateaus.

Biblical references such as Psalm 126:4 (“Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb”) point to the semiarid character of the region from early recorded times. The Negev should not, however, be considered a desert as such. In the Beersheba area (elevation about 800 feet [250 metres]), rainfall varies from 8 inches (200 mm) to 12 inches (305 mm) in some years. The latter amount permits unirrigated grain farming. Precipitation decreases to the south. The central Negev plateau (elevation 820–3,395 feet [250–1,035 metres]) receives 3–4 inches (76–102 mm), and rainfall is negligible at Elat, at the southern tip. The amount of rainfall varies considerably throughout the region from year to year. Flash flooding is common in the winter rainy season. Most of the rugged region is heavily dissected by wadis, or seasonal watercourses.

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Arabian Camel (Camelus dromedarius) in the Sahara Desert sand dunes. (pack animal; sand; Morocco; Africa; African desert; mammal; dromedary; drought)

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Remains of prehistoric and early historic settlements are abundant. Flint arrowheads of the Late Stone Age (c. 7000 bce) and implements of the Copper and Bronze Age (c. 4000–1400 bce) have been found on the central Negev plateau. The Negev was a pastoral region in biblical times, but the Nabataeans, a Semitic people centred in what is now Jordan, developed techniques of terracing and of conserving winter rains, which made the Negev a thriving agricultural area. It was an important granary of the Roman Empire. After the Arab conquest of Palestine (7th century ce), the Negev was left desolate; for more than 1,200 years it supported only a meagre population of nomadic Bedouin.

Modern agricultural development in the Negev began with three kibbutzim (collective settlements) in 1943; others were founded just after World War II, when the first large-scale irrigation projects were initiated. After the creation of the State of Israel (1948), the importance of development of this large portion of the country was realized. Under the National Water Plan, pipelines and conduits bring water from northern and central Israel to the northwestern Negev, which has almost 400,000 acres (more than 160,000 hectares) of fertile loess soils. Irrigation, combined with the area’s year-round sunlight, produces fine crops of grain, fodder, fruits, and vegetables. Double-cropping is not uncommon.

Exploitation of mineral resources has accompanied agricultural development. Potash, bromine, and magnesium are extracted at Sedom, at the southern end of the Dead Sea, and copper is mined at Timnaʿ. There are large deposits of ball clay and glass sand for the ceramic and glass industries. Phosphate works have been established at Oron and Zefaʿ and natural gas fields at Rosh Zohar.

Urbanization has come in the wake of modern settlement. Beersheba, “capital of the Negev,” is the largest city in Israel not in the environs of Tel Aviv–Yafo, Jerusalem, or Haifa. Planned cities in the Negev include ʿArad (founded 1961), Dimona (1955), and the port city of Elat (settled 1949), Israel’s outlet to the Red Sea.

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The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Zeidan.

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