For the Record

In class the other day, one of my students asked me how far it is from Qumran:
to the fresh water spring of Ein Feshka:

What I should have said is "I don't know." Instead I blathered inanely for a few minutes, which had the same effect. I'm no good at estimating distances.

Google Earth to the rescue: As the crow flies, Qumran is 2.97 km from Ein Feshka, 14.23 km from ancient Jericho, and 22.33 km from (and about 4,000 feet below) Jerusalem:

Here's a close-up:

(Click on the picture for a much larger image.)