The lowest place on the face of the earth has a singularly unattractive name: the Dead Sea. This body of water is about 50 miles long and 11 miles wide and it is located on the border between Israel and Jordan. The Dead Sea is land-locked. Water from the Jordan River flows in, but no water flows out.
It’s called the Dead Sea because nothing lives in it, no plants, no seaweed, no fish, no marine life, nothing. Around the Dead Sea, there is no sand, but white crystals of mineral salts cover everything.
The water in the Dead Sea gets saltier as its depth increases. The surface, fed by the Jordan River is the least saline. Down to about 130 feet, there are about 300 grams to per kilogram of seawater. That’s about 10 times the salinity of the other oceans.
Below 300 feet, the sea has 332 grams of salt per kilogram of seawater. The water is saturated. The salt precipitates out and builds up on the sea bottom.
Any fish unfortunate enough to swim into the Dead Sea from the Jordan River or from one of the few fresh water springs that flow into the Sea, are killed instantly. Their bodies are quickly coated with a preserving layer of salt crystals and they are thrown back on shore by the wind and waves.
Because of all the dissolved mineral salts, the water of the Dead Sea is much denser than that of regular oceans and lakes. Humans will float in this water. Any tourists who visit the area and wish to swim in the Dead Sea are advised to back in, lay on their backs and float. It is impossible to sink.
You really can’t swim in the usual manner. If you get water in your eyes, it will sting and they will be hard to open. Bathers must take a shower afterwards, to wash off the salt.
Both Israel and Jordan harvest minerals from the waters of the Dead Sea. They have much richer concentrations of bromine, magnesium, and iodine than ordinary sea water.
The area around the Dead Sea has become a popular tourist destination. The air is unpolluted and nearly allergen-free. The temperature is warm all year round. The mineral-rich water and special black mud are purported to have potent healing properties. There is a popular line of cosmetics and beauty products whose ingredients originate in the Dead Sea.
The Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River which feed the Dead Sea have fresh water, and they are being heavily utilized for irrigation by Israel and Jordan. Consequently, the water level in the Dead Sea is dropping by about a metre a year. If no remedial action is taken, the Dead Sea may disappear from the face of the earth by the end of the century.
