Dead Sea

The Dead Sea , also known by other names, is a landlocked <a href="/facts/Salt_lake/gEtjt4Rl">salt lake</a> bordered by <a href="/facts/Jordan/JC5sS1oJ">Jordan</a> to the east, the <a href="/facts/Israeli-occupied_West_Bank/oW4n3psF">Israeli-occupied West Bank</a> to the west and <a href="/facts/Israel/dEe3IcaY">Israel</a> to the southwest. It lies in the <a href="/facts/Endorheic_basin/0CHdGUlG">endorheic basin</a> of the <a href="/facts/Jordan_Rift_Valley/3vMk3Thv">Jordan Rift Valley</a>, and its main <a href="/facts/Tributary/JB69Ypox">tributary</a> is the <a href="/facts/Jordan_River/dRFFQcxV">Jordan River</a>.
As of 2025, the lake's surface is 439.78 metres (1,443 ft) below <a href="/facts/Sea_level/mDhuI7Xe">sea level</a>, making its shores the <a href="/facts/Lowest_elevations/VkHNTmoy">lowest land-based elevation</a> on Earth. It is 304 m (997 ft) deep, the deepest <a href="/facts/Hypersaline_lake/s6EfQkzE">hypersaline lake</a> in the world. With a <a href="/facts/Salinity/X6mB1YAM">salinity</a> of 342 g/kg, or 34.2% (in 2011), it is one of the <a href="/facts/List_of_bodies_of_water_by_salinity/7fDD7qND">world's saltiest bodies of water</a>, 9.6 times as <a href="/facts/Seawater/fRBJjbws">salty as the ocean</a>—and has a <a href="/facts/Density/92p6hh9I">density</a> of 1.24 kg/litre, which makes swimming similar to <a href="/facts/Buoyancy/9dIQwlrh">floating</a>. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea's main, northern basin is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and 15 kilometres (9 mi) wide at its widest point.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_basin/azjFD5mW">Mediterranean basin</a> for thousands of years. It was one of the world's first <a href="/facts/Health_resort/dernSxHK">health resorts</a>, and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from <a href="/facts/Bitumen/tW6EqphW">asphalt</a> for <a href="/facts/Ancient_Egypt/BDsEGK4g">Egyptian</a> <a href="/facts/Mummification/nDaeqf5N">mummification</a> to <a href="/facts/Potash/4e2vBL9L">potash</a> for <a href="/facts/Fertiliser/ysh3r6NJ">fertilisers</a>. Today, tourists visit the sea on its Israeli, Jordanian and West Bank coastlines.
The Dead Sea is receding at a swift rate; its surface area today is 605 km2 (234 sq mi), having been 1,050 km2 (410 sq mi) in 1930. Multiple canal and pipeline proposals, such as the scrapped <a href="/facts/Red_Sea%25E2%2580%2593Dead_Sea_Water_Conveyance/mnHmPFQH">Red Sea–Dead Sea Water Conveyance</a> project, have been made to reduce its recession.

Dead Sea open-in-new

Dead Sea