Dead Sea

The Dead Sea (Hebrew: "Sea of Salt";Arabic: "Dead Sea") is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. It is 420 metres (1,378 ft) below sea level, and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of the Earth on dry land. The Dead Sea is 380 m (1,247 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7 percent salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica such as Don Juan Pond and perhaps Lake Vanda have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.[3] Experts say that it is almost ten times saltier than the Mediterranean Sea (34% salt versus 3.5% for the Mediterranean). This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River ...

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By Bryce Eddings

The Jordan River feeds the Dead Sea. In the 1960s much of the water from that artery began to be drained off for irrigation and other needs. Without its constant supply of water, the Dead Sea began to experience great changes. To understand the most dramatic, one must understand the stratification that marked this unique body of water. The mineral rich waters that created the huge natural spa that had soothed kings and peasants throughout history and is now the source for people all over the world that seek to purchase Dead Sea salts were divided into a cool lower layer and a warm upper layer. The lower layer was completely saturated with the salt that characterizes this body of water. The upper layer, while still strikingly salty had a lower concentration ...

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