[dirtboy]

Isn't it at the northern end of the largest above-water rift valley on the planet?

Couldn't tell you. The Gulf of Aqaba is part of the same rift, and there are many long rift valleys in Africa - and the Basin and Range of Nevada is full of them as well.

[FrogMom]

A little research, it appears my memory was correct.

From:
http://www.thomsonsafaris.com/newsletter/nl25_riftvalley.htm

This:
"Slicing across 4,500 miles from the Dead Sea in the north to Mozambique in the south, it forms the largest visible rift on earth, although a few larger rifts lie under the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans."