Back Dooie See Afrikaans ጨው ባሕር Amharic Mar Muerta AN Okwaan̄ Uchi ANN البحر الميت Arabic ܝܡܐ ܕܡܠܚܐ ARC لبحر لميت ARY البحر الميت ARZ মৃত সাগৰ Assamese Mar Muertu AST
| Dead Sea | |
|---|---|
 A view from Palestine looking across to Jordan | |
| Coordinates | 31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°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 a lake located in the southwestern of Asia. It is 420 metres (1,380 feet) below sea level and it is the lowest surface of the Earth.[4] The sea is drying up as basin countries use water from its tributaries as a source of drinking water and for processes such as irrigation.[5]
The Dead Sea is almost nine times as salty as the ocean.[6] 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.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Virtual Israel Experience: The Dead Sea". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Dead Sea Data Summary 2012.Water Authority of Israel. The World Bank - 'The Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program' - 2013 Archived 2013-09-15 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Monitoring of the Dead Sea". Israel Marine Data Center (ISRAMAR). Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
- ↑ Connolly, Kevin (2016-06-16). "Dead Sea drying: A new low-point for Earth". BBC News. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ↑ Berman, Ofir (2022-12-11). "The Dead Sea is dying. These beautiful, ominous photos show the impact". NPR. Retrieved 2025-01-19.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)