Dead Sea: Why is it called so?
Imagine a waterbody where you can simply float and not drown even if you don’t know how to swim. You won’t even need a life jacket. Intrigued? Well, here, we are talking about the Dead Sea in southwest Asia. Though you won’t drown, there could be others factors that can threaten your life here. One of these reasons could be its high salt content which may eventually dissolve your flesh. Here is what you need to know about Dead Sea.
Not a sea but a lake
First things first. The Dead Sea is actually not a sea but a landlocked salt-water lake between Israel and Jordan in southwestern Asia. Both these countries own the lake in part. While Jordan owns the eastern shore, the southern half of its western shore is owned by Israel. The majority of the water of the lake comes from the Jordan River flowing from the north. But where does it outflow? Nowhere. It is an endorheic lake, that is, it does not have any outflow to any external body of water, like a river or an ocean.
The naming of Dead Sea
Ever wondered why Dead Sea is called by this name? The naswer lies in the the extremely high content of salt in it making the water toxic and unsurvivable for marine life. Precisely, for the same reason, it is also called the “Salt Sea”. But how much salt is there that makes it completely uninhabitable? Normally, the average salinity of marine water is taken as 3.5%. Compare that with over 30% of salinity in the Dead Sea. Most marine animals survive deep under the water but in the case of the Dead Sea, the concentration of salt is very high towards the bottom. This happened due to declining inflow from the Jordan River since the 1960s which slowly enhanced the salinity of surface water, making it impossible for organisms to flourish. Moreover, it contains sulphates and bicarbonates, and the deepest regions are known to be saturated with high amounts of sodium chloride. This made the areas fossilised, enabling only microbes to survive in such a toxic environment.
Why you can’t drown in the Dead Sea?
As already mentioned, you will not be able to swim its waters nor will drown in it. You will at best be able to float on the surface of Dead Sea. This is again due to its high salt content. Actually, the excessive salt content increases the density of water and therefore, the human body weight decreases in its water, keeping it afloat.
The lowest point on Earth
The Dead Sea is ‘famous’ for more than one reason. Its banks are the lowest land-based elevation on earth with the lake's surface 1,412 feet below sea level. Over the years, there were many changes in its size, as the levels of evaporation surpassed the levels of precipitation. This is because the area is very hot and gets very little rainfall. Harvesting of the salt and human diversion of Jordan River are also responsible for so less water reaching the Salt Sea.