The Arava Valley is a long desert rift running between the Dead Sea in the north and Eilat in the south and is part of the Great Rift Valley. It is a low-lying, arid desert plain flanked by the Negev Highlands to the west and the Edom Mountains of Jordan to the east.

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The communities in the Northern Arava were founded mainly in the 1960s to 1970s and are predominantly moshavim. By comparison, the Southern Arava south of Paran has smaller, more scattered communities that are a mix of moshavim, kibbutzim and newer ecological communities. Agriculture is important in the south, but less dominant, and there is a focus on date palms and niche crops. Tourism and services play a larger role, especially around Eilat.

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The moshavim here are not linked up to the national water carrier and instead deep aquifers are tapped. Its brackish water is desalinated for drinking and agriculture. Drip irrigation is used and there is strict water management with recycling. Solar fields provide local and excess electricity, and thereby provide income and reduce dependence on distant power grids.

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Not emphasized in the visitor center, probably because it diffuses the message, is that growing Medjool dates has become more prominent in the Northern Arava. This fruit requires extreme summer heat, and the Northern Arava provides long, hot summers with a low rainfall during harvest, all of which are ideal conditions. The trees also have deep root systems that are able to tap groundwater. Unlike many vegetables, they are tolerant of moderately saline water, and drip irrigation delivers water directly to their roots with minimal loss. They are also able to grow in sandy, saline, nutrient-poor soils, and are less sensitive to soil quality than vegetables.