Dead Sea Facts and Information

Dead Sea, also known as “Sea of the Arabah” or “Sea of the Devil” is located deep between the Jordan valley and Israel.

Location:
It is surrounded by Judea hills in the west and Transjordanic plateaus in the east. The river Jordan drains into the Dead Sea from the north. It is the lowest point of the earth whose shore is 1300 feet below the sea level. The sea is 80 km long and 16 km wide and thus it is the smallest sea in the world.

Dead Sea-Origin:
Long time ago, a rift was formed in this part of the world. A part of the rift moved towards Africa and covered the eastern part of the continent. The earth’s crust became thinner at the middle where the rift originated and dropped down, thus forming the Dead Sea. Since the sea was formed in this area by the eruption of 55 hot water springs, it has become the lowest part of the world and lies to the west of Rift valley. The Dead Sea has been sinking 33 cm every year and this is very fast according to the scale of geology.

Historical facts:
Dead Sea has been associated with the history of The Bible. It is called by various names like “The Eastern Sea” “Sea of Lot” etc. Due to the rich mineral content and medicinal features, many historical celebrities like Aristotle, Queen of Sheba, King Solomon and Cleopatra used this sea for their materialistic use. Some ancient books also mentioned that Cleopatra tried to conquer and capture the sea so that she could build a factory using Dead Sea as the source. The first factory built near the Dead Sea was a potash factory.

Reason for its salinity:
The Dead Sea is locked on all sides by land. Many rivers like Jordan drain into the Dead Sea but no river drains out of it. Hence water can drain out only through evaporation leaving all the mineral salts into the sea thus making it saltier. Also, many rivers drain into the sea which brings mineral salts with it.

Minerals and their features:
The high mineral content of the water makes it devoid of living creatures in it. Neither animals nor plants survive here but the same mineral content is a boon to mankind. It contains many types of mineral salts which cleanse the skin, detoxify it and contain therapeutic features too.

The minerals found here that are highly in use are
• Sulphur found here in abundance is a natural disinfectant. It is used in the treatment of psoriasis and to reduce pigmentation in the skin. It reduces joint pains too.
• Sodium combined with potassium helps to regulates water balance in the body and acts a cleanser.
• Iodine helps in the proper secretion of thyroid gland.
• Magnesium acts as a toner and retains moisture in the skin.
• Calcium makes the bones and teeth stronger, regulates proper functioning of heart.
• Bromide activates nervous system.

Thus Dead Sea still remains a treasure of gifts to the world.

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