Joshua rose up early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel; and they lodged there before they passed over.
The very name "Jordan" means "descender."[6] The Encyclopaedia Brittanica gives the meaning as "the down-comer."[7]  Such names reflect the amazing steepness of the river throughout its course.  From its source to its entry into the Dead Sea the distance is only about 65 miles, but the river meanders for a length of about 200 miles, with "an average loss of altitude of about 9 feet per mile."[8]  The rank vegetation on each side of the river abounds with large quantities of castor oil plants, oleanders (poisonous), tamarisks, and acacias.[9]