The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordering Jordan and Israel
Its surface and shores are 1,388 ft below sea level, the earth’s lowest elevation on land. The Dead sea is 1,237 feet deep and it is the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is 34 miles long and 11 miles wide at its widest point, with 33.7% salinity it is one of the world’s saltiest bodies of water. It is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride and other mineral salts, with saline levels surpassing even that of ocean water!
Although the salinity makes for a harsh environment in which animals can not flourish, hence its name The Dead Sea, it has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years and is know as one of the world’s first health resorts. The Dead Sea area has become a major center for health research and treatment for several reasons – the mineral content of the water, the very low content of pollens and other allergens in the atmosphere, the reduced ultraviolet component of solar radiation, and the higher atmospheric pressure at this great depth each have specific health effects. Many people use the salt and minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics, herbal body care products and healing sachets.
Today people from all over the world come to explore its unique beauty and healing powers. The Dead Sea’s unusually high salt concentration means that people can easily float in the Dead Sea due to natural buoyancy.
When we let go of the struggle to stay afloat…we float!