THE SEA OF GALILEE

- At 680 feet below sea level, the Sea of Galilee is the world's lowest freshwater lake with a length of about 13 miles, a width of up to 8 miles, and a depth of as much as 150 feet.

- Also known in ancient times as the Lake of Gennesaret, the Sea of Tiberias, and the Sea of Chinnereth (the name of an important shore town).

- The water is deep blue in a semitropical climate,

- It is fed by the Jordan River in the north and surrounded by the verdant fields and orchards of Galilee.

- Often, however, fierce storms abruptly rise up and toss the waters about-as happened when Jesus lay asleep in his disciples' boat. In the north, there is scant protection from strong winds; southward, turbulence can spring up without warning because of temperature shifts between the low-lying lake and the hills around it.

- In Jesus' day, the fishing industry contributed to the wealth of the region. Dried, salted fish were exported throughout Palestine and to lands beyond. Simon Peter and Andrew were working their nets here when Jesus called them to become "fishers of men."

- The headquarters for his Galilean ministry was the seaside town of Capernaum.

- Mary Magdalene came from the nearby hamlet of Magdala.

- Here Jesus fed the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish and exorcised the demons from a possessed man, driving them into a herd of swine.

- Here, too, Jesus appeared to his disciples after the Resurrection, ending his earthly mission by charging commanding Peter to feed His sheep.