Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is located Israel and the West Bank and Jordan. It is a hypersaline or salt lake that contains more than 8 times the salt present in the ocean waters. Because of this it is often referred to as “Sea of Salt.”

The Dead Sea also represents the lowest place on the surface of the earth. The lowest part of the area reaches down 1,378 feet (420 m) below sea level. The lake itself is 1,247 feet (380 m) making it the deepest hypersaline lake in the world.

The Dead Sea measures 42 miles (67 km) long and 11 miles (18 km) across. The Dead Sea gets water from various sources but the Jordan River is the primary tributary.

The Dead Sea, which shimmers like a bluemirror under all-day sunshine, is one of the most unusual bodies of water in the world.

It is set in the lowest dry land on earth, so it has no outlet. It is so loaded with minerals that no fish can live in it. It is so dense that bathers can lie back on its surface and read a newspaper.

The Dead Sea is located about 25km east ofJerusalem, along the border between Israel and Jordan. About half of it is actually in Jordanian territory.

The ancient Hebrews called this body of water the Sea of Salt. Other ancient names include the Sea of Solitude, the Sea of Arabah and the Asphalt Sea. TheCrusaders called it the Sea of Satan.

The Dead Sea’s therapeutic qualities attracted Herod the Great. Its minerals and sticky black mud provided balms for Egyptian mummies and cosmetics for Cleopatra.

Now its health resorts treat psoriasis and arthritis, its skin-care products are marketed worldwide, and its industrial evaporation pans harvest potash and other minerals.

Evaporation concentrates the minerals

The Dead Sea is 67km long, 18km across at its widest point, and 420 metres below sea level.

Because it has no exit, water is lost only through evaporation, which leaves behind the minerals. The Dead Sea is nearly 10 times assalty as the open seas. The high concentration of minerals (predominantly magnesium chloride) provides the buoyancy that keeps bathers suspended — as well as a bitter taste.

A low promontory of land called el-Lisan (“the tongue”) projects across the sea from the east, dividing the southern third from the northern section.

At one time the Dead Sea covered four times as much land as it did in 2006, when its surface was falling by up to a metre a year.

Much of the water that once flowed into the Dead Sea is being diverted for drinking water and agriculture purposes, so there is not enough to offset the high evaporation rate.

Rescue proposals to prevent the sea drying up have included canals to bring water from the Mediterranean Sea or the Red Sea.

If the Dead Sea becomes rejuvenated with fresh water, this could fulfil a prophecyin Ezekiel 47:8-10, that it will “become fresh . . . and there will be very many fish”.