The Dead Sea
Day 225 / 365
The dead sea is a salt lake bordered by Jordan and Israel. It’s also known as the Salt Sea, and it’s a popular tourist spot. Mostly due to the fact that the water is so dense, people can easily float in it as you see in the picture above.
As you can guess by the name, this lake has an extremely high amount of salt content. In fact, it’s one of the saltiest water bodies in the world. To give you a reference point, it’s about 10 times as salty as the ocean!
Why is it named ‘Dead’ Sea?
Because of the saltiness in the water, most sea life can’t survive in it. Hence the name ‘Dead Sea’.
The dead sea has a rich history, and it has been popular as a tourist spot for thousands of years, even during biblical times. There are mentions of the sea in the Bible. Even the Egyptians used to extract minerals from the sea and use it in mummification and as fertilizers.
The Dead sea is getting smaller
The dead sea is receding, and that too at a quick rate. The total surface area of the lake was 1,050 square km. in 1930, and today it has dropped down to 605 square km. The primary cause for this is the diversion of incoming water from the Jordan River to the north.
This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here
Yesterday’s blog — Stop complaining