The Dead Sea

saltwater · geography · extreme-places

Super salty water. The Dead Sea is so packed with salt that it's almost ten times saltier than the ocean. This extreme saltiness means almost nothing can live in it, which is why it earned its spooky name.

Lowest place on Earth. The Dead Sea sits 1,410 feet below sea level, making it the lowest point on Earth's surface. It's so deep in a valley that you can see the land rising steeply all around you.

You can't sink. Because the water is so incredibly salty and dense, people float on top of it like corks. Even if you try to dive down, the water pushes you back up to the surface.

Fed by the Jordan River. The only major river flowing into the Dead Sea is the Jordan River. Because the Dead Sea has no outlet to the ocean, all the salt gets trapped there and keeps piling up over time.

Shrinking over time. The Dead Sea is actually getting smaller and lower each year because more water is taken from the Jordan River for drinking and farming than flows in naturally.