The Judaean Desert or Judean Desert (, both Desert of Judah or Judaean Desert; ) is a desert in the West Bank and Israel that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. Under the name El-Bariyah, it has been nominated to the Tentative List of World Heritage Sites in the State of Palestine, particularly for its monastic ruins. Etymology The term originates in the Hebrew Bible, and it is mentioned in Judges and Psalms. It is sometimes known as Yeshimon, meaning desert or wildland, or yet Wilderness of Judah or Wilderness of Judaea, among others. Geography The Judaean Desert lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. The Judaean Desert stretches from the northeastern Negev to the east of Beit El, and is marked by natural terraces with escarpments. It ends in a steep escarpment dropping to the Dead Sea and the Jordan Valley. The Judaean Desert is characterized by the topography of a plateau that ends in the east in a cliff. It is crossed by numerous wadis flowing from west to east and has many ravines, most of them deep, from in the west to in the east. The Judaean Desert is an area with a special morphological structure along the east of the Judaean Mountains. A study by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem of an underground water reservoir beneath the Judaean Desert known as the Judaea Group Aquifer, found that the aquifer begins in the Judaean Mountains and flows in a northeasterly direction towards the Dead Sea with outflows at the Tsukim, Kane, Samar and Ein-Gedi springs. The rain-fed aquifer contains an average yearly volume of some of water. Climate Rainfall in the Judea region varies from in the western hills, rising to around western Jerusalem (in central Judaea), falling back to in eastern Jerusalem and dropping to around in the eastern parts, due to a rainshadow effect. The climate ranges from Mediterranean in the west and desert climate in the east, with a strip of steppe climate in the middle. Flora and fauna Rock hyraxes and Nubian Ibex live on the desert plateau and the Dead Sea cliffs. Until quite recently, there were Arabian leopards in the area, but they are now extinct in the area due to illegal hunting. For the last time, an Arabian leopard was spotted in Ein Feshkha. Common birds in the area include the fan-tailed raven,