The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is a natural wonder which is located in the middle of the enormous Syrian-African crack valley fault between Israel and the Kingdom of Jordan. The Dead Sea is really a big inland lake 76 KM long, up to 18 KM wide and it is 400 meters deep at the deepest point. It is the lowest spot on dry land in the world (417 under sea level).

One more evidence held by the Dead Sea is having the highest salt attentiveness of any of the world's seas, salt lakes or any extend of water. The salt attentiveness in the dead sea is ten times higher than other seas (for example: the salt concentration in the Dead Sea is 34%, while the concentration in the Mediterranean sea is only 3.5%). This high salt concentration makes balanced in its waters effortless.The high salinity of the waters in the Dead Sea prevents the existance of life in the water, therefore its name. The name "Dead Sea" for the Hebrew "Yam Hamelach" (Salt Sea) was credited by Christian Monks, surprised by the evident nonattendance of any form of life in the sea water. Current scientific investigate however, exposed 11 types of bacteria in the water.

The Dead Sea is drying quickly. 2,000-3,000 years ago, the level of the Dead Sea was 360 meters below sea level. However, distraction of sweet water from the Jordan river since 1950, by both Jordan and Israel, has abridged to less than the half the flow of water from the Jordan river into the Dead Sea. Today, water desertion is faster than the water supply and the sea is gradually shrinking. Over the last 30 years, water levels have dropped 25 meters.

This fall of the Dead Sea level has caused another strange and problematic occurrence in the area. At points where rivers run into the Dead Sea, the water is engrossed by the sandy ground and streams underground into the Sea. Because of the fall in the Dead Sea level, the underground rivers flow faster, and carry soil sediments: thus large underground caves have been formed, which sometimes crumple unexpectedly, and people have fallen down holes a few meters deep. This phenomenon causes great damages to tourism and local industries.

Minerals found in the Dead Sea are known around the world for their healing qualities, and are dispersed around the world under the name Ahava Cosmetics. Many come to the dead sea to wash in mineral rich mud, which is considered to have many medicinal benefits. Its natural properties make it a prime centre for bath treatments and recreation therapies, and there are a number of resorts in the area.