Description: Tomographic inversion techniques were applied to first-arrival traveltimes of refracted P waves to study the shallowest part of the crust in the vicinity of the Arava Fault (AF), the Dead Sea Transform (DST) segment between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea; tomographic inversion techniques were applied to first-arrival traveltimes of refracted P waves. A 100-km-long seismic line was centered on and oriented approximately perpendicular to the AF. A large number of P wave traveltimes from vibroseis and explosive shots (〉 280,000) were picked manually and used to invert for shallow P wave velocity structure. The regularized inversion approach (Zelt and Barton, 1998) was used for the tomographic inversion of the traveltimes. Extensive testing of model and inversion parameters was carried out to derive a reliable P wave velocity model. Complementary checker-board tests indicate that depending on the size of velocity homogeneities, the velocity structure is well resolved down to a depth of several kilometers. This model represents the first shallow P wave velocity across the whole width of the DST system, showing features that correlate well with surface geology and also some buried structures. The model further suggests that the AF extends vertically downward to at least 3 km. The observed variation in upper-crustal velocity implies the existence of a simple deformation compatible with a large lateral fault offset. From this model, a structural and dynamic interpretation of the DST system is then presented. The depth extension and geometry of several additional major faults and DST-associated shallow sedimentary basins were successfully imaged through the integration of the well-known surface geology and nearby boreholes. This work again confirms the DST as a typical transform fault system with a dominant strike-slip motion confined to a narrow zone.