The lowest point on Earth’s land surface and one of the saltiest bodies of water anywhere — so dense that people float on top.
Area
605 km²
Ocean basin
Enclosed (Levant)
Location
The lowest and saltiest water on Earth
Average depth
about 200 m
Maximum depth
about 300 m
Salinity
~340 ppt (almost ten times the ocean)
Temperature
Warm, 19–31°C
Region
Between Jordan & Israel
About the Dead Sea
The Dead Sea lies in the Jordan Rift Valley between Jordan and Israel, fed by the Jordan River but with no outlet, so minerals have concentrated for thousands of years. Its water is nearly ten times saltier than the ocean — far too salty for fish or plants, which is how it got its name. The intense salt makes swimmers bob like corks, and its mineral mud has been prized since ancient times.
Did you know?
Its shore sits about 430 m below sea level, the lowest dry land on the planet, and its water is so salty that nothing can live in it.
Highlights
- The lowest dry land on Earth
- So salty that nothing lives in it
- So dense that people float effortlessly
Photo gallery
Surface & deep in the Dead Sea
The sea is warm where the Sun reaches it and cold far below. Flip between the sunlit surface and the deep water to feel the difference — these are typical figures for a enclosed sea.
Sunlit surface
24°C
typical surface temperature
Ringed by land, enclosed seas heat up more at the surface and, cut off from the open ocean, their trapped deep water often stays comparatively warm.
Recorded range for the Dead Sea: Warm, 19–31°C