Nahr al-Jaouz

Nahr al-Jaouz (also Al-Joz, Al-Jawz, Arabic: نهر الجوز, lit. 'Walnut River') is a perennial river in the Batroun District of North Lebanon. It rises in the highlands of the Jurd (highlands) of Tannourine and flows westward through a steep valley to empty into the Mediterranean Sea near Batroun. The river's basin is underlain by limestone like adjacent North Lebanon watersheds. The main channel is about 32–38 km long; one recent study measured its length as roughly 32.3 km (20.1 miles) from source to mouth. It descends from the Tannourine plateau down through terraced hillsides before reaching the coastal plain just south of the Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory and the Ottoman-era Mseilha Fort. The Nahr al-Jaouz passes by villages such as Kfar Helda and Batroun, and its valley has traditionally been heavily cultivated and irrigated.