Dead Sea

The Dead Sea fits its name in regards to its inability to be home to living creatures. Because it's landlocked, the body of water has no sources of new water. Since it is blocked off from other sources of water, water can only escape through evaporation. As fresh water evaporates, salty minerals are left behind, and over the course of years, the Dead Sea has become the saltiest body of water, having 33.7% salinity. 

This hyper-saline environment is also the lowest place on earth and has dropped 80 feet in the past 40 years. It is 1,388 feet below sea level. This body of water is also fairly long and is the deepest hyper-saline lake in the world, at 1,237 feet deep. The lake is 31 miles long in length and 9.3 miles long in width. It has an overall surface area of 230 square miles.

The high percentage of salinity in the sea prevents aquatic animals, but there do live a minuscule amount of bacteria and fungi.  There are no fish or higher life forms found in the Dead Sea, but  there are bacteria and organisms. The sea has Xerohalophytic algae, which grow on dry marshes. There may be others, but the lake is quite unexplored. However, there are specific times when the water is habitable for organisms. When the lake floods, its salt content can drop by about 35%. In 1980, after a rainy winter, the water turned from blue to red. It was filled with an algae called Dunaliella. 

 

The water temperature of the Dead Sea varies depending on the season. In summer, it ranges between 90 and 102 degrees Fahrenheit. In Winter the temperature ranges from 68 to 73 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Dead is located in the Jordan Rift Valley and borders Jordan to the east and also borders Israel and the West Bank to the west.

Fun Facts

• You can lay on the surface of the water without even trying to float. The high salt content makes you buoyant. 
• Egyptians in history used mud from the Dead Sea in their mummification process of the deceased.
• The Dead Sea has many minerals, such as calcium, iodine, saline, potassium, and bromide.
• It has become a major center for health research and treatment.  
• It has unusual discharges of asphalt.

Works Cited

"10 Things You Didn't Know About the Dead Sea." TwistedSifter. 24 June 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.

"20 Quick Facts About the Dead Sea." San Francisco Salt Co. Web. 2 Feb. 2016. <http://www.sfsalt.com/20-dead-sea-facts>.

"25 Interesting Dead Sea Facts." Facts Legend. 07 June 2014. Web. 02 Feb. 2016.