Dan River, river rising in Israel. It is the largest of the three principal tributaries of the Jordan River. The Dan River issues from Tel Dan (Tell al-Qāḍī), the site of the biblical city of Dan (Laish). The river is fed by the rains and snowmelt that pass through the rock of Mount Hermon and emerge at its foot to form hundreds of springs. Laurel, ash, and Italian buckthorn flourish in a small nature reserve.