Dead Sea
The Dead Sea is a lake in the southwest of Asia. It is the Earth's lowest surface, located 420 meters (1,380 feet) below sea level.[4] The sea is drying up as basin countries use water from its tributaries for drinking water and processes like irrigation.[5]
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| Coordinates | 31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°ECoordinates: 31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°E |
| Primary inflows | Jordan River |
| Primary outflows | None |
| Catchment area | 41,650 km2 (16,080 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | Israel, Jordan and Palestine |
| Max. length | 50 km (31 mi)[1] |
| Max. width | 15 km (9.3 mi)[1] |
| Surface area | 605 km2 (234 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 200 m (656 ft)[2] |
| Max. depth | 306 m (1,004 ft) |
| Water volume | 114 km3 (27 cu mi)[2] |
| Shore length1 | 135 km (84 mi) |
| Surface elevation | −427 m (−1,401 ft)[3] |
| References | [2][3] |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
The Dead Sea is almost nine times as salty as the ocean[6] because a lot of water evaporates out of it, leaving salt behind.[7] Most life cannot survive its high salinity, which is why it is called the "Dead Sea". However, some microbes have adapted to the high salinity and are able to survive in the Dead Sea's harsh environment.[8]
Because the water is so salty, it weighs more than fresh water. This allows people to float in the Dead Sea without any effort. Tourists come from around the world to float in the water.
Gallery
A rough Dead Sea, with salt deposits on cliffs
Reading a newspaper while floating in the Dead Sea
View of salt evaporation pans on the Dead Sea, taken in 1989 from the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-28).
The decreasing water level of the Dead Sea
Dead Sea Media
Satellite photograph, showing the location of the Dead Sea east of the Mediterranean Sea
The Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea, showing salt deposits left behind by falling water levels
Halite deposits (and teepee structure) along the western Dead Sea coast
Salt-cemented pebbles on the western shore of the Dead Sea.
Beach pebbles made of halite; western coast
Dead Sea in the morning, seen from Masada
Mount Sodom, Israel, showing the so-called "Lot's Wife" pillar (made of halite like the rest of the mountain)
A cargo boat on the Dead Sea as seen on the Madaba Map, from the 6th century AD
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Virtual Israel Experience: The Dead SeaJewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dead Sea Data Summary 2012.Water Authority of Israel. The World Bank - 'The Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program' - 2013 Archived 2013-09-15 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Monitoring of the Dead SeaIsrael Marine Data Center (ISRAMAR). Retrieved 2014-04-27.
- ↑ Connolly, Kevin (2016-06-16). "Dead Sea drying: A new low-point for Earth" (in en-GB). BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-36477284. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ↑ Berman, Ofir (2022-12-11). "The Dead Sea is dying. These beautiful, ominous photos show the impact" (in en). NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2022/12/11/1139524126/photos-dead-sea-water-level-dropping-sinkholes-erosion. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ↑ Archived copy. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
- ↑ Why is the sea salty? | Natural History Museum (in en). www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-02-06.
- ↑ Al-Daghistani, Hala I.. Microbial communities in the Dead Sea and their potential biotechnological applications (in en). Communicative & Integrative Biology 17 (1) (2024-12-31). doi:10.1080/19420889.2024.2369782.
Other websites
Media related to Dead Sea at Wikimedia Commons