O Dead Sea it is located in the Middle East, more precisely on the border between Israel, Palestine and Jordan, and is supplied, in greater quantity, by the Jordan River. It is one of the main tourist attractions in the region and in the world, as its waters are considered, by many, as medicinal. Altogether, the Dead Sea has an area of 650 square kilometers.
But why does the Dead Sea have that name?
The origin of the name of the Dead Sea is due to the fact that this sea does not offer conditions for the maintenance of species of living beings, both animal and vegetable. Therefore, in the impossibility of having life, he is said to be dead.
This is because of the high amount of salt — much more than in any body of water on the planet. This occurrence results from the intense rate of evaporation in the region, which causes the water to evaporate and the salts not. As the River Jordan continually throws a load of mineral salts at the Dead Sea, its high salinity is maintained.
The amount of salt in the Dead Sea is so pronounced that it interferes with density of its waters. Because of this, a body must be extremely dense to sink into it. The proof of this is the fact that anyone can float normally in its waters.
It is very easy to float in the Dead Sea, all thanks to its high density, caused by excess salt *
However, there is a certain surprise in this whole story: the Dead Sea is not sea and neither is it dead!
The Dead Sea is not a sea because, technically, a sea is an extension of an ocean, being surrounded by continuous strips of land, but not completely isolating itself from the ocean waters. In the case of the Dead Sea, it is completely isolated, being supplied only by the River Jordan and other tributaries. It is, then, a big salt water lake, including an alternative name: asphaltite lake.
The Dead Sea is not “dead” because, according to discoveries from the 1990s, there is life in it. But life, in this case, boils down to a bacterium that can survive in this environment, the haloarcle marismortui, in addition to another type of bacteria and a species of seaweed. So, technically, there is life in the Dead Sea, although almost every species on the planet cannot survive its unfavorable environment.
Dead Sea Fun Facts:
- It is the largest absolute depression in the continental areas of the planet, with an altitude of 471 meters below sea level;
- The Dead Sea is drying up because of its high rate of evaporation and the excessive use of water from the Jordan River, which reduces its supply;
- On its surface, the Dead Sea has six times more salt per square meter than the oceans. At 95 meters deep, it is 10 times saltier!
- There is a project called the Canal da Paz which aims to build an aqueduct to bring water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to contain its decline;
- The presence of mineral salts and also the existence of a "black mud" that forms in some deposits make the Dead Sea waters are very nourishing for the skin, making it a true open-air SPA.
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* Image credits: Chameleons Eye / Shutterstock
