Geography & Geology
The Mount of Olives is one of three peaks of a mountain ridge which runs for 3.5 km just east of Old Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley, in this area called the Valley of Josaphat. The peak to its north is Mount Scopus, at 826 m, while the peak to its south is the Mount of Corruption, at 747. The highest point on the Mount of Olives is at-Tur, at 818 meters (2,683 ft). The ridge acts as a watershed, and its eastern side is the beginning of the Judean Desert.
The ridge is formed of oceanic sedimentary rock from the Late Cretaceous, and contains a soft chalk and a hard flint. While the chalk is easily quarried, it is not a suitable strength for construction, which is why the Mount was never built up, and instead features many man-made burial caves.
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