Not always. A nahal is a watercourse or stream channel, and the word can name a channel with no visible water. A nahal eitan flows all year, while a nahal akhzav does not.

What is the difference between a nahal and a wadi?

A wadi is often an Arabic or traditional name for the same feature as a nahal. Nahal Prat and Wadi Qelt are one place, and that place has major springs.

Is Makhtesh Ramon a crater?

No. A makhtesh is a depression formed by erosion inside a folded ridge, with one drainage outlet. Makhtesh Ramon was not made by a meteor or a volcano.

What does Ein mean in Israeli place names?

In a place name, ein means spring. The everyday Hebrew word for a spring is ma'ayan, and on signs the same element may be spelled En or Ein.

Can I swim or drink at an Israeli spring?

Only where the site allows it. The Nature and Parks Authority permits water entry only at designated sites, and natural spring water is not to be drunk unless approved by the Ministry of Health or another competent authority.

Israeli Landscape Guide: Nahal, Wadi, Makhtesh

Streams And Valleys

On the label or sign

נחל: Nahal plus a proper name, as on maps and trail signs
נחל פרת: Nahal Prat, an example of the naming pattern

נחלWatercourse or stream channel

nahal

US English

Watercourse or stream channel

UK English

Watercourse, stream, or river channel

What it is

A nahal is a named natural drainage course. The word nahal can name the channel even when no water is visible.

The difference

English speakers expect a river with water in it. A nahal can be a vegetated stream, a rocky canyon bed, or a broad dry channel, and the bare word does not tell you which.

Common mistake

Do not assume a nahal on a map guarantees water; check the flow type and the current status before you go.

On the label or sign

איתן: perennial, often in a description rather than the site name

נחל איתןPerennial stream

nahal eitan

US English

Perennial stream or perennial river

UK English

Perennial stream or perennial watercourse

What it is

A nahal eitan is a nahal whose water flows through the whole year. The Academy of the Hebrew Language defines nahal eitan as drawing its water throughout the entire year.

The difference

Perennial describes the flow, not the size. One named nahal can change along its course; the Nature and Parks Authority says Nahal Gilbon becomes perennial from the Alika springs downstream.

Common mistake

Do not assume every part of a named nahal has year-round water; confirm a nahal eitan on an official site rather than from one wet visit.

A dry ephemeral streambed in the desert, nahal akhzav

On the label or sign

נחל אכזב: ephemeral watercourse
נחל עונתי: seasonal watercourse

נחל אכזב / נחל עונתיEphemeral or seasonal stream

nahal akhzav / nahal onati

US English

Ephemeral stream; in the Southwest, a wash or arroyo

UK English

Ephemeral stream or seasonal watercourse

What it is

A nahal akhzav or nahal onati is a channel without continuous year-round flow. The bed of a nahal akhzav is often gravel, cobbles, sand, or bare rock and may be completely dry.

The difference

Ephemeral and intermittent are not perfect synonyms in English: an ephemeral reach depends on rain, while an intermittent reach flows for part of the year. A dry nahal akhzav is still an active drainage route, and flash floods can develop quickly after rain.

Common mistake

Do not treat a dry nahal akhzav as safe; check the Israel Meteorological Service flood forecast, because water can arrive even without rain overhead.

On the label or sign

ואדי: Wadi plus an Arabic name
נחל פרת (ואדי קלט): Nahal Prat (Wadi Qelt), one feature with two names

ואדיWadi

vadi

US English

Wadi; explained as a dry wash or arroyo

UK English

Wadi; explained as an ephemeral valley or stream channel

What it is

Vadi is a Hebrew loanword the Academy of the Hebrew Language records as wadi. In Israel the word vadi often keeps an Arabic or traditional name for a valley or stream channel.

The difference

A vadi is not the dry opposite of a nahal. Nahal Prat and Wadi Qelt are one feature with major springs, and Nahal Taninim, also called Wadi az-Zarqa, has a lower reach that flows all year.

Common mistake

Do not treat wadi and nahal as two different landforms or translate every wadi as a dry riverbed; read the Hebrew and Arabic names as possible labels for the same place.

Landforms

A makhtesh, the large erosion bowl of the Negev

On the label or sign

מכתש רמון: Makhtesh Ramon

מכתשMakhtesh (erosional landform)

makhtesh

US English

Makhtesh, or erosional makhtesh

UK English

Makhtesh, or erosional makhtesh

What it is

A makhtesh is a depression formed when erosion removes softer rock from inside a folded ridge beneath harder rock. A makhtesh drains through a single outlet.

The difference

English speakers hear crater and picture a meteor strike or a volcano. A makhtesh is neither, and the sources give no exact ordinary English substitute, so makhtesh is the accurate English word.

Common mistake

Do not call Makhtesh Ramon the Ramon Crater without explaining that a makhtesh is made by erosion; keep the word makhtesh.

Springs

On the label or sign

עין: Ein or En plus a proper name, a spring
עין גדי: En Gedi on road signs, Ein Gedi on park pages
מעיין: spring, in descriptive text

עין / מעייןSpring

ein / ma'ayan

US English

Spring; a weak, diffuse one is a seep

UK English

Spring; a weak, diffuse one is a seep

What it is

An ein is a natural point where groundwater comes out at the surface. Ein is the form used in place names, and ma'ayan is the normal everyday word for a spring.

The difference

In ordinary Hebrew the word ein also means eye, but in a place name ein means spring. An Ein or En name does not promise visible water, drinkable water, or permission to go in.

Common mistake

Do not translate every ein as eye or assume every Ein name marks a swimming pool; enter water only at designated sites and do not drink natural spring water unless it is approved.

On the label or sign

עינות / עיינות: two Hebrew spellings of einot in site names
עינות כוכב: Enot Kokhav on Ministry of Transport signs

עינות / מעיינותSprings or group of springs

einot / ma'ayanot

US English

Springs, or a group of springs

UK English

Springs, or a group of springs

What it is

Einot plus a name usually labels a cluster of springs or a spring area. Ma'ayanot is the ordinary plural in descriptive writing.

The difference

A plural name such as einot does not guarantee that every spring still flows. The Nature and Parks Authority reported in December 2025 that the Einot Fakhum springs had almost disappeared after a rain-poor winter.

Common mistake

Do not search only for Ein; also search En, Einot, Enot, and Aynot to find the same place.

You see this on a sign or map. Read it this way.
English you might expect	Hebrew on the sign	Keep in mind
River or stream	נחלnahal	A watercourse; water is not guaranteed.
Perennial stream	נחל איתןnahal eitan	Water all year, but check each section.
Dry wash or arroyo	נחל אכזבnahal akhzav	Can flood quickly after rain.
Wadi	ואדיvadi	Often an Arabic name for a nahal; may hold water.
Crater	מכתשmakhtesh	Made by erosion; say makhtesh.
Spring	עין / מעייןein / ma'ayan	Search both En and Ein spellings.
Springs	עינותeinot	Also spelled Enot, Einot, or Aynot.

You see this on a sign or map. Read it this way.

English you might expect

Hebrew on the sign

Keep in mind

River or stream

נחלnahal

A watercourse; water is not guaranteed.

Perennial stream

נחל איתןnahal eitan

Water all year, but check each section.

Dry wash or arroyo

נחל אכזבnahal akhzav

Can flood quickly after rain.

Wadi

ואדיvadi

Often an Arabic name for a nahal; may hold water.

Crater

מכתשmakhtesh

Made by erosion; say makhtesh.

Spring

עין / מעייןein / ma'ayan

Search both En and Ein spellings.

Springs

עינותeinot

Also spelled Enot, Einot, or Aynot.

Mix-Ups to Avoid

Streams And Valleys

נחלWatercourse or stream channel

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

נחל איתןPerennial stream

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

נחל אכזב / נחל עונתיEphemeral or seasonal stream

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

ואדיWadi

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

Landforms

מכתשMakhtesh (erosional landform)

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

Springs

עין / מעייןSpring

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

עינות / מעיינותSprings or group of springs

What it is

The difference

Common mistake

You See This on a Sign or Map. Read It This Way.

Knowing the word is half of it. Say it out loud.

How we checked this guide

Frequently Asked Questions

More Hebrew-English Guides

Israeli Wildlife Guide

Israeli Bugs and Pests Guide

Iconic Israeli Plants Guide

Israeli Beach Guide