Pura Nature Reserve, Nature reserve in Southern District, Israel

Pura Nature Reserve is a small reserve in the northern Negev, by the Ma'ahaz interchange on the Kiryat Gat–Beit Kama road, covering 12 dunams in the Pura streambed, a tributary of Nahal Shikma, enlarged by 283 dunams in 2007. Its chalk and limestone rocks date to the Eocene. In winter floodwater collects behind a dam, forming a seasonal lake, and the ruined bridge of the Turkish World War I railway from Tulkaram to Beersheba and Kusseima stands nearby.

The reserve was fenced off in the 1960s, which kept grazing animals out and left the chalk and limestone rock of the Eocene period undisturbed. In 2007 its area was enlarged by 283 dunams, alongside the original 12 dunams in the Pura streambed, a tributary of Nahal Shikma. It takes its name from Horbat Pura on its western edge, known in Arabic as Khirbat al-Fura. A bridge over Nahal Shikma in the reserve is a remnant of the Turkish railway built in World War I from Tulkaram to Beersheba and on to Kusseima in Sinai; it was destroyed by floods in the 1970s.

The reserve is named after Horbat Pura, the ruins on its western edge; in Arabic the site is Khirbat al-Fura. Since the early 2000s its red anemone carpets have grown, and it is now part of the Darom Adom festival held each February in the western Negev.

The main entrance is from Road 40, next to the Ma'ahaz interchange on the Kiryat Gat–Beit Kama road. The reserve lies in the Pura streambed, a tributary of Nahal Shikma, and a seasonal lake forms there in winter behind a dam. The old bridge in the reserve is a remnant of the Turkish railway built in World War I from Tul Karm to Be'er Sheva and on to Kusseima; it was destroyed by floods in the 1970s.

The reserve's name comes from Horbat Pura, the ruins on its western edge; in Arabic the site is called Khirbat al-Fura. A bridge over Nahal Shikma in the reserve is a remnant of the Turkish railway built in World War I from Tulkaram to Beersheba and on to Kusseima in Sinai, destroyed by floods in the 1970s.