Judean Desert in the context of "Rain shadow"

The Cave of Letters (Hebrew: מערת האיגרות, romanized: Marat Ha-Igerot) is a refuge cave in Nahal Hever in the Judean Desert where letters and fragments of papyri from the Roman Empire period were found. Some are related to the Bar Kokhba revolt (circa 131–136 CE), including letters of correspondence between Bar Kokhba and his subordinates. Another notable bundle of papyri, known as the Babatha cache, comprises legal documents of Babatha, a female landowner of the same period.

Nahal Hever (Hebrew: נחל חבר) or Wadi al-Khabat (Arabic) is an intermittent stream (wadi) in the Judean Desert, that flows through the West Bank and Israel, from the area of Yatta to the Dead Sea. The Hebrew name is derived from "Hevron", the Hebrew name of the city of Hebron. The stream has a few waterfalls, the tallest one having a drop of over 140 metres (460 ft).

The Ahmarian culture was a Paleolithic archeological industry in the Levant dated at 46,000–42,000 years before present (BP) and thought to be related to Levantine Emiran and younger European Aurignacian cultures.

The word "Ahmarian" was adopted from the archaeological site of Erq el-Ahmar (also written Erk el Ahmar), West Bank, Palestine, a rockshelter in the Judean Desert in the northern Dead Sea Rift. It was explored and excavated by French Prehistorian René Neuville in 1951. The "Ahmarian" category had only been recognized since the 1980s, and was previously designated as "Phase II Upper Paleolithic" or "Ksar Akil Phase B".

Hyrcania (Ancient Greek: Ὑρκανία; Arabic: خربة المرد "Khirbet el-Mird"; Hebrew: הורקניה Horcania) was an ancient fortress in the Judean Desert. It was built by Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus or his son Alexander Jannaeus in the 2nd or 1st century BCE (in the Hellenistic part of the Second Temple period). The site is located on an isolated hill about 200 m above the Hyrcania valley, on its western edge. It is in Bethlehem Governorate in Palestine, about 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of Qumran, and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) east of Jerusalem.

Initially destroyed by Gabinius, the fortress was rebuilt and greatly expanded by King Herod (r. 37–4 BCE; Roman period). After Herod executed his son Antipater, he was interred there. After Herod's death Hyrcania was abandoned, only to be resettled during the Byzantine period, when a late-5th century monastery named Kastellion was established on the ruined fortress, which remained active until the early 9th century. There was a short-lived attempt by monks to rebuild in the 1920s–30s. The ancient ruins can still be seen today. Until the start of a 2023 archaeological campaign, the site had not yet been thoroughly excavated, and knowledge about the ruins of the site was based on a limited number of test pits.

The Kidron Valley (classical transliteration, Cedron, from Hebrew: נחל קדרון, Naḥal Qidron, literally Qidron River; also Qidron Valley) is a valley originating slightly northeast of the Old City of Jerusalem, which then separates the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives, and ending at the Dead Sea. Beyond Jerusalem it continues in a general south-easterly direction through the Judean Desert in the West Bank, reaching the Dead Sea near the settlement of Ovnat, and descending 4,000 feet (1,200 m) along its 20-mile (32 km) course.

In ancient Hebrew sources, as well as in Arabic, different segments of the valley bear different names. Arabic names include وادي الجوز, Wadi el-Joz, 'Valley of the Walnut', but possibly a shortening of "Valley of Josaphat", for the upper segment, near the Temple Mount; and Wadi en-Nar, 'Fire Valley', for the rest of it – with at least the segment at the ancient Mar Saba ('Saint Sabbas') monastery also known in the 19th century as Wadi er-Rahib, 'Monk's Valley'.

31°22′51.37″N 35°21′51.65″E / 31.3809361°N 35.3643472°E / 31.3809361; 35.3643472

Nahal Mishmar (Hebrew: נחל משמר, lit. 'Guard Stream') or Wadi Mahras (Arabic: مَحْرَس) is a small seasonal stream in the Judean Desert in Israel. A hoard of rare Chalcolithic artifacts, the Nahal Mishmar hoard, was discovered in a cave near the stream bed which was dubbed the "Treasure Cave".