“The Dead Sea is so salty, about ten times the ocean, that you cannot sink in it; you simply float on the surface of the lowest point on the planet's land.”
About Dead Sea
Known since antiquity for its salt, asphalt and supposed healing properties, the Dead Sea appears in biblical accounts and was mined and traded for its minerals for millennia. In recent decades the diversion of the Jordan River for agriculture and industry has caused the water level to fall sharply, a slow environmental crisis visible in the receding shoreline.
What Dead Sea actually is
The Dead Sea sits at the lowest point on Earth's land surface, its shore more than 430 metres below sea level and dropping further every year. Its water is roughly ten times saltier than the ocean, so dense that swimmers cannot sink and instead float on the surface, the classic pose being to read a newspaper while lying back on the water. The mineral-rich black mud along the shore is smeared on as a treatment.
The Dead Sea sits at the lowest point on Earth's land surface, its shore more than 430 metres below sea level and dropping further every year.
A Shrinking Sea
The sea is receding by about a metre a year as the Jordan River that feeds it is diverted upstream, leaving old waterlines and sinkholes along the retreating shore. Resorts and public beaches on the Jordanian side give access to float, mud and freshwater showers.
The Experience
Wading in feels normal until the water lifts your feet from under you and you bob upright, unable to swim properly. The salt stings any cut and must be kept out of eyes. People coat themselves in the grey-black mineral mud, let it dry, then rinse it off. Surrounding you, the sits heavy and warm in the deep basin, and the haze over the water is constant.
Why It Matters
The Dead Sea is a global natural landmark, the lowest land point on Earth and a hypersaline lake whose minerals built a spa and cosmetics industry. Its rapid shrinkage has also made it a symbol of regional water stress.
The Dead Sea is a global natural landmark, the lowest land point on Earth and a hypersaline lake whose minerals built a spa and cosmetics industry.
Why Visit
Floating effortlessly on the saltiest accessible water and standing at the planet's lowest land point are experiences with no real substitute. Use a resort or public beach with freshwater showers, never shave beforehand, and keep the water away from your eyes.
✦ Insider Tips
- 1
Do not shave for a day or two beforehand; the salt water turns every nick into fire.
- 2
Keep the water out of your eyes and mouth, and use a beach with freshwater showers to rinse.
- 3
Float on your back rather than trying to swim; you cannot put your face in the water.
