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]

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^[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