Sharon plain

The Sharon plain (Hebrew: השרון (Ha-Sharon)‎) is the northern half of the coastal plain of Israel.

The Plain lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Samarian Hills, 15 km (9.3 mi) to the east. It stretches from Haifa and Mount Carmel in the north to the Yarkon River in the south, at the edge of the present city of Tel Aviv, about 90 km (56 mi). Parts of the Plain are included in the Haifa, Central, and Tel Aviv Districts of Israel. In 2008, the Sharon Plain was home to 1,131,600 people, 965,300 of them (85.3%) are Jews, and 166,300 (14.6%) are Arabs.

The Plain of Sharon is mentioned in the Bible (1 Chron. 5:16, 27:29; Isaiah 33:9, 35:2, 65:10), including the famous reference to the enigmatic "Rose of Sharon" (Song of Solomon 2:1). Historically, While some parts of the Sharon plain were very fertile, much of it was swampy and malarial, a condition exacerbated by massive Ottoman deforestation. Zionist immigrants arrived in the early 20th century, drained much of the swampy land, and populated the region with many settlements. In 2008, it was the most densely populated region of Israel.