Dead Sea

Dead Sea
A view from Palestine looking across to Jordan
Coordinates	31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°E / 31.500; 35.500
Lake type	Endorheic Hypersaline
Primary inflows	Jordan River
Primary outflows	None
Catchment area	41,650 km2 (16,080 sq mi)
Basin countries	Israel, Jordan and Palestine
Max. length	50 km (31 mi)[1]
Max. width	15 km (9.3 mi)[1]
Surface area	605 km2 (234 sq mi)
Average depth	200 m (656 ft)[2]
Max. depth	306 m (1,004 ft)
Water volume	114 km3 (27 cu mi)[2]
Shore length1	135 km (84 mi)
Surface elevation	−427 m (−1,401 ft)[3]
References	[2][3]
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Dead Sea is a lake between the West Bank and Jordan. It is 418 metres (1,371 feet) below sea level. It is the lowest point on the surface of the Earth.^[4]

The Dead Sea is almost nine times as salty as the ocean.^[5] That makes it impossible for most life to exist in it. This is the reason for its name. However, it is not completely dead, because some types of bacteria are able to live in the water.

Because the water is so salty, it weighs more than fresh water. That lets people float in the Dead Sea without any effort. Tourists come from around the world to float in the water.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Virtual Israel Experience: The Dead Sea". Jewish Virtual Library. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Dead Sea Data Summary 2012.Water Authority of Israel. The World Bank - 'The Red Sea - Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program' - 2013 Archived 2013-09-15 at the Wayback Machine.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Monitoring of the Dead Sea". Israel Marine Data Center (ISRAMAR).
4. ↑ http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761556205/Dead_Sea.htmlRetrievedon 9 October 2007 Archived 2009-10-28 at the Wayback Machine
5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2007-10-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)