The Dead Sea sits at approximately 435 meters below sea level, the lowest point on the surface of the earth. Its water is nearly ten times saltier than the ocean, so dense that swimmers float effortlessly on its surface. The mineral-rich mud on its shores has been valued for therapeutic purposes since the time of Cleopatra, who reportedly established cosmetic factories on its banks. And the lake is disappearing, shrinking by more than a meter every year, making a visit both a tourist experience and a witness to one of the most significant environmental crises of our time.
Floating
Floating in the Dead Sea is one of those experiences that everyone should have once. The extreme salinity (approximately 34% dissolved salt, compared to about 3.5% in the ocean) makes it physically impossible to sink. You lie back on the surface and the water holds you, pushes you up, refuses to let you go under. The sensation is strange, wonderful, and unlike anything else on earth. The mineral mud, scooped from the shore and spread on the skin, is rich in magnesium, calcium, potassium, and bromide, and leaves you feeling like you have been polished from the inside out.
A few practical notes: do not put your head under water (the salt will burn your eyes painfully), do not shave before visiting (same reason), and do not stay in the water for more than 20 minutes at a time. The salt concentration is powerful, and extended exposure can irritate the skin.
Minerals
The Dead Sea’s mineral content has attracted health seekers for millennia. The combination of minerals in the water and mud, the low-allergen air (the thick atmosphere at the lowest point on earth filters out UV radiation), and the high oxygen content have made the Dead Sea a destination for people suffering from skin conditions like psoriasis, as well as respiratory ailments and arthritis. Medical tourism is a significant part of the Dead Sea economy, and hotels on the Israeli and Jordanian shores offer spa treatments based on the local minerals.
Environmental Crisis
The Dead Sea has lost approximately one-third of its surface area since the 1960s. The water level drops by more than a meter every year. The primary cause is the diversion of the Jordan River, which once supplied most of the lake’s water. Israel, Jordan, and Syria have diverted an estimated 90% of the Jordan’s flow for domestic and agricultural use. At the same time, mineral extraction operations on both sides of the lake, the Dead Sea Works on the Israeli side and the Arab Potash Company on the Jordanian side, use massive evaporation pools that accelerate water loss.
The most dramatic consequence is the sinkholes. Over 6,000 sinkholes have formed along the receding shoreline, some of them swallowing roads, buildings, and agricultural land. The sinkholes form when underground freshwater, flowing toward the receding sea, dissolves ancient salt layers beneath the surface, creating cavities that collapse without warning.
Proposals
Various plans have been proposed to save the Dead Sea, including the Red Sea-Dead Sea canal, which would pipe water from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Dead Sea while generating desalinated water and hydroelectric power along the way. The project has been discussed for decades but faces political, environmental, and financial obstacles. In the meantime, the Dead Sea continues to shrink.
The Dead Sea in the Bible
The Dead Sea (called the Salt Sea, the Sea of the Arabah, or the Eastern Sea in the Bible) appears in some of the most dramatic biblical narratives. Abraham and Lot looked down at the Jordan Valley, “well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt” (Genesis 13:10), and Lot chose it for himself, settling near Sodom. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the plain near the Dead Sea, “with burning sulfur from the Lord out of the heavens” (Genesis 19:24), is one of the foundational stories of divine judgment. Lot’s wife, who looked back at the destruction against the angel’s command, “became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26), and salt formations along the Dead Sea shore have been identified with her ever since.
The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the Dead Sea transformed: a river flowing from the Temple in Jerusalem down to the Dead Sea, and wherever the water flowed, the salt water was healed: “Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows… There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh” (Ezekiel 47:9). The vision of the Dead Sea coming to life is one of the most powerful images of redemption in the Hebrew Bible, and it gives the Dead Sea a prophetic future as dramatic as its geological present.
Visit with Hoshen Tours
The Dead Sea is a must-visit destination on any guided tour of Israel. Hoshen Tours combines it with Masada, Ein Gedi, and Qumran for a day that covers history, nature, and the most unusual swimming experience in the world. Because the Dead Sea will not be here forever, and seeing it now is seeing something that your grandchildren may only read about.