Dead Sea (Israel)

Overview

The Dead Sea is a legendary salt lake fed by the Jordan River, with its salty surface lying over 1,400 feet below sea level – the lowest land-based shores on Earth. The Dead Sea is in the Judean desert of southern Israel about 15 miles east of Jerusalem and is Israel's largest body of water within its borders (approximately 45 miles by 10 miles in size). The Dead Sea is one of the world's four saltiest bodies of water. These special conditions are an outcome of its extreme geomorphological structure alongside a harsh desert climate. These create constant dramatic changes that form a landscape different from any other in the world.

Even since the time of Herod the Great, the Dead Sea area has been a health resort. The Dead Sea is globally renowned for the therapeutic effect of the minerals in its waters and mud, which are especially high in concentration. Dead Sea minerals in the water and mud have helped improve many skin conditions, such as psoriasis, vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, and acne. The mud from the Dead Sea is bottled and sold around the world as a beauty product, but if you come to Israel, you can cover yourself in it for free!

Why is it called the Dead Sea? Primarily, it got this name because it has almost 10 times more salt than oceans making it uninhabitable for fish and plant life. There is absolutely no life whatsoever in the Dead Sea. In Arabic, it is called "Al-Baḥr Al-Mayyit," (Sea of Death). In the Bible the Dead Sea is called the Sea of the Arabah (Joshua 3:16), the Salt Sea ("Yam HaMelaẖ") (Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 3:16; 12:3) and the Eastern Sea (Ezekiel 47:18; Joel 2:20; Zechariah 14:8). In a spiritual sense, some have likened it to being dead because water comes in but doesn't leave. That's what happens to us if we only receive but don't give – we become spiritually dead.

Many biblical events take place near the Dead Sea, as it served as the eastern boundary of Israel separating it from Jordan. It is referenced often to describe the borders of Israel (e.g. Numbers 34:12). It appears the area around the Dead Sea was lush and well-watered before God destroyed the area with fire and brimstone (Genesis 13:10). The Dead Sea plays prominently in the stories of Sodom and Gomorrah’s downfall (Genesis 19:23–29) when it was changed to the state it is today – a dry, barren desert (Deuteronomy 29:23). It was a densely populated area during the time of Abraham before God destroyed the area (Genesis 14:1-3). The slopes of Mount Sodom are in the southeast corner of the Dead Sea, and they feature salt formations that look like pillars – which are traditionally referred to as Lot’s wife.

Because of its unusually high salt concentration, the water is naturally buoyant and allows most everyone to float at the surface. Since the late 1980s the landscape around the sea has been reshaped by thousands of sinkholes — caused by fresh water from the mountains dissolving underground levels of salt. This phenomenon has caused some tourist beaches in Israel to close.