Dead Sea
sea in the middle East From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dead Sea is a lake between the West Bank and Jordan. It is 418 metres (1,371 feet) below sea level. It is the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.[4]
| Dead Sea | |
|---|---|
 A view from Palestine looking across to Jordan | |
| Coordinates | 31°30′N 35°30′E |
| Lake type | Endorheic Hypersaline |
| 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.[5] That makes it impossible for most life to exist in it. This is the reason for its name. However, it is not completely dead, because some types of bacteria are able to live in the water.
Because the water is so salty, it weighs more than fresh water. That lets people float in the Dead Sea without any effort. Tourists come from around the world to float in the water.
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 dwindling water level of the Dead Sea
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