The Dead Sea is actually not a sea but the world’s deepest hypersaline lake with a depth of almost 1,000 feet. Located in the Middle East, this saltwater lake has intrigued common people, explorers, and scientists for decades due to a number of its unique features. While everything about the lake has not yet been unveiled to the world, here are 5 things to know about the Dead Sea that might surprise you.
5 Things To Know About the Dead Sea
After reading, you might consider visiting, you will want to find a tour provider that can help organize your journey. Visit the Dead Sea to view more information on the topic and you can find information to help organize your trip. To prepare have a read of our 5 points below.
Lowest Elevation Point
At 1,412 feet below sea level, the surface of the Dead Sea and its adjoining shores are the lowest points of elevation on land. Some of the water body’s unusual properties have been estimated to be a result of this fact, but that’s definitely not the only reason.
The Dead Sea is Not the Saltiest Lake on the Planet
We all know that it’s primarily the hypersaline nature of the Dead Sea that makes it so famous and is responsible for most of its strange properties, but in spite of having a 34.2% salinity, the Dead Sea isn’t the world’s most saline lake? That title goes to the Don Juan Pond in Antarctica. In fact, the Dead Sea isn’t even the lake with the highest salinity outside Antarctica because Lake Assal has a higher salinity of 34.8%.
You CAN Drown in the Dead Sea
Admittedly, it is a lot harder to drown yourself conventionally while swimming in the Dead Sea, or any other hypersaline lake for that matter, but the usual myth that people can’t drown here is not only a myth but also a potential death trap since quite a few lives are lost here every year because people don’t understand the dangers. The thing is that while your face is up, you should be fine because the salinity and buoyancy will make sure that you keep floating, but if you turn over or fall on your face into the sea, the same properties will make it particularly hard for you to get your face out of water by turning over. Also, even if you are able to turn over again, just a few gulps of the water here can be toxic to your body and may cause death.
The Dead Sea is Truly Dead
Aside from microscopic organisms such as bacteria and certain types of fungi, nothing lives here because no complex organism can survive in a waterbody that’s so saline. Therefore, you can rest assured that there are no monsters in the Dead Sea!
The Dead Sea Has Asphalt Floating on It
One of the biggest mysteries of all time in regard to the Dead Sea is the appearance of mysterious blocks of asphalt that are at times found floating on the lake’s surface. The origin of these blocks is unconfirmed but geologists presume that they come from below the lake bed.
The Dead Sea is an intriguing place and certainly one of the most unusual places in the whole world that’s definitely worth seeing. However, if you are planning to swim in it, do practice caution and be skeptical of the health benefits that a lot of people claim about the lake’s water.
1 Comment
I would be one of the skeptics, with regard to health benefits of any hypersaline body of water. The ocean would have strong healing properties, in its cleaner segments. An overly saline lake, however, which does not support complex organisms, can hardly be expected to give health boons to human beings.