SITE PICTURES > RELATED LINKS/TRIPS > DEAD SEA

The Dead Sea is a salt lake which lies on the border between Israel and Jordan, and occupies the northern portion of the Great Rift Valley. The surface of the Dead Sea, 408 m (1,340 ft) is the lowest water surface on earth. The Jordan river is the main tributary into the Dead Sea, but due to the diversion of water away the Jordan for agricultural purposes the surface of the Dead Sea has been dropping for the last 50 years. Nearly seven times as salty as the ocean, the Dead Sea contains at a depth of 305 m (1,000 ft) some 27 percent mineral salts. No life can exist in this hostile environment save for a few rare types of microbes. Thus it is hard to believe that Qumran, home of the Essenes, was founded only several kilometers from the shore. Today the Dead Sea is an important tourist attraction. Because of the high density of the water the human body can easily float on the surface. The mud from the Dead Sea, saturated in mineral salts, is fabled to have tremendous healing powers. Beaches, parkes, health spas, and beauty clinics now dot the once desolate shore. To learn more about the Dead Sea visit http://www.dead-sea.net.