Dead Sea photos. Why is the Dead Sea called dead: history and legends
What is this strange sea at the very edge of the deserted scorched earth? It is a closed lake in the deepest part of the Jordan Basin. This is the lowest landmass on the globe - 412 m below the level of the Mediterranean Sea. The Israel-Jordan border runs right in the middle of the sea, so that half of the sea belongs to one country, and the other half to the other. It consists of two pools: a large northern one, up to 350 m deep, and a small and very shallow southern one.
The Dead Sea ranks second in salinity in the world after the lake. Van in Turkey. Its waters are practically lifeless, and the surrounding area is deserted. The high mineralization of the water is explained by intense evaporation and the presence of salt-bearing rocks at the bottom of the lake. Dissolved mineral salts are approx. 24% of the volume of water (for comparison, we point out that in ordinary sea water their content is less than 4%). If one liter of sea water contains 35 grams of salts, then a liter of Dead Sea water contains 275 grams.
How did the Dead Sea form?
Perhaps some of the readers have already heard about the theory of plate tectonics, which says that all of our continents are on plates moving relative to each other through the more liquid mantle substance (earth layer).
Once, being a single continent, “Pangaea” collapsed under the pressure of volcanic processes, and the continents gradually took their place familiar to us today. Since that moment, this process has not stopped, and the continents are still moving, each on its own plate. The speed of movement of these plates is different. The tectonic plate that Israel is on moves slower than the plate that Jordan is on. Thus, today the Jordanian plate is 100 km ahead of the Israeli plate, moving north and forming Mount Hermon (Hermon), as well as other mountain ranges located on the territory of modern Lebanon.
This area is part of the Syrian-East African Rift Valley. It is surrounded by the Judean Mountains to the west and the Moab Mountains to the east. Several million years ago, a fracture of the earth's crust occurred in this area, a vast meridional depression was formed, which began to fill with water, and the ancient Tethys Ocean was formed. Then almost all of Eretz Israel was flooded with water several times. As the water level dropped, the stone blocks turned out to be like dams, dividing the reservoir into separate lakes. This is how Lake Hula, Lake Kinneret (Lake of Gennesaret) and the Dead Sea were formed.
The Jordan Valley, in which the Dead Sea lies, is a unique geological formation, an intercontinental depression formed during the split of two continents - Eurasia and Africa. This deepest depression in the world is the most active part of the Syrian-African mountain rift, which in a few million years should lead to the separation of continental platforms. As a result of this, Israel will find itself on the northeastern coast of the African continent, since it stands on this very platform. The clearest evidence of the split is the frequent earthquakes along this line, sometimes very strong, such as in the 3rd and 8th centuries. and 1837. Shocks of 5-6 points occur here once every two to three years, and small ones, recorded only by instruments, two to three times a day. The depression was formed, according to geologists, about 60 million years ago and was immediately filled with water from the Tethys Ocean. It was connected through the corridor of the Jezreel Valley * with the future Mediterranean Sea, which is a relic of Tethys. Later, the ocean left, and for some time the seas were replaced by dry periods, which is clearly visible from the geological section of the rocks. Hence the layers of clays of extraordinary color and appearance preserved in the northernmost part of the basin and near Masada. About 1 million years ago, the depression was filled with very salty water from the Lashon Sea, which extended to where Lake Kinneret is today. Having dried up, the Lashon Sea left behind a trace - a layer of salt - along the length of the depression, almost 2 km deep. On the southern edge of the Dead Sea, this layer is squeezed to the surface by geological forces and forms the huge salt mountain of Sodom.
This bay was called the word “Lashon”, which means “tongue” in Hebrew, and its height was about 180 m below sea level. Today, the surface of the Dead Sea is at -422m, at the moment it may already be -423...
The gulf ran along today's geography approximately from the city of Haifa, through the Israel Valley, filling the depression where Lake Kinneret (Galilee\Genisaret) is located today, and from there to the south, to the present-day settlement of Hatzeva, which is south of the Dead Sea.
Further (3-4 million years ago), volcanic eruptions on the Golan Heights and in the Galilee interrupted the connection of the Lashon Bay with the Mediterranean Sea, and the bay gradually began to dry out. At the beginning, the Israel Valley dried up and a long strip remained from today's Kinneret to the Dead Sea, including. The part connecting these two reservoirs gradually dried up, leaving the Kinneret in the north, into which the Jordan River and many streams flow, and a dead sea in the south.
The modern Dead Sea was formed only 20 - 40 thousand years ago from fresh water and is replenished with water from the Jordan River and a number of other freshwater sources - Ein Feshkha, Ein Gedi, Dragot, Arugot, David streams, etc. However, since there is no source from the Dead Sea , the water leaves here solely by evaporation and the dissolved salt remains, constantly concentrating. The level of evaporation and temperature in the valley is high, the water flow exceeds the influx and the sea is gradually decreasing; in 100 years, the coastline has gone down by 40 m. According to experts, the Dead Sea will dry up completely in the next 700 - 800 years.
In ancient literature (Josephus and Tacitus) there is information about shipping on the Dead Sea in ancient times, although it was called differently: in the Talmud - the Sea of Sodom; in the New Testament - the Salt or Eastern Sea; Josephus calls it Asphalt Lake. Nowadays in Arab countries this sea is usually referred to as Bahr Lut, or “Sea of Lot”. Dating back to ancient times are the biblical accounts of Abraham and Lot and the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. David was hiding on the western shore of the Dead Sea in En Gedi. The idea that the waters of the Dead Sea swallowed up the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah dates back to the works of Josephus. A special expedition was equipped to search for these cities in 1924. According to her reports, the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah and Zoar were located on the southeastern shore of the lake.
In old times, the water and salt of the Dead Sea were exported to Italy by the Roman nobility. Judean asphalt, a bituminous liquid that rises to the surface of the lake, was used for industrial and medical purposes. Valuable and prestigious cosmetics, perfumes and medicines were produced from plants growing on the shores of the lake, and especially from impatiens. They were of such economic importance that wars were fought over their possession. For example, Mark Antony conquered the Dead Sea region for Cleopatra.
Dead Sea, what's in your name?
This sea was called differently at different times. Several names have survived to this day: “Salt Sea” (yam ha melakh), “Sea of Arava” (yam ha arava), “East Sea” (yam kedmoni), “Asphalt Sea” (yam ha asphalt) and “Dead Sea”. (yam ha mavet). In all languages it is called the dead sea, and in Hebrew it is called salty. Arava is the name of the valley that runs from the south of the Dead Sea, the border of the Judean desert and extends to Eilat. The word "Arava" is translated as steppe.
The sea was called the Eastern or “Kedma” in ancient times because the word “Kedma” is translated as “Before”. This word indicated a geographical direction. The sun rises in the east, which means “in front” there. Today we changed our orientation and “in front” is in our north, where the compass needle actually points. The “Asphalt” sea was named because the residents of this settlement collected clots of asphalt from the surface of the sea. Asphalt was used in various fields, such as repairing ships, roofing, medicines, and also for mummification in Egypt.
Well, the Dead Sea was called dead because there were no fish in it.
Chemical composition of Dead Sea water.
The percentage of salt in the water is quite high - about 33%, when compared with the Mediterranean Sea, in which the salt content is about 3.5-4%, there is a noticeable difference.
Most people compare swimming in the Dead Sea to swimming in salted oil. Indeed, the water feels oily to the touch, but this is most likely due to the fact that the periodic table was dipped into it more than once. About 20 different minerals are contained in this mixture, which also has medicinal properties and helps people with skin and other diseases.
The mud of the Dead Sea is also unique, as scientists dare to say, it has no analogues in the world.
Who measured the level of the Dead Sea and when?
As stated above Dead Sea level today – 422m from the level of the world ocean. Measuring the level of the Dead Sea is usually credited to the British, who created the Palestine Exploration Fund in 1865, but the French had taken measurements here the year before.
The French, however, although they were the first to take measurements, for some reason they delayed publishing their material, and it was published only 10 years after the expedition.
The level of the Dead Sea during the French expedition was measured by L. Vignes and at that time it was 392 meters from the level of the world ocean.
In any case, exploration of the Dead Sea and its surroundings began at the end of the 18th century. The first to study the composition of its water was Antoine Laurent, who is considered the founder of modern chemistry. Other researchers from different countries have already followed him. Two of them, at different times, went down the Jordan River, from the southern tip of Lake Kinneret to the Dead Sea itself, although their fate was deplorable...
By not taking into account the local climate, and not understanding that the water should be drunk, Christopher Costigan and Thomas Mulina paid with their lives. Today the northern and southern parts of the land that separate the Dead Sea and its basins are named after them. On one of the rocks near the Dead Sea there were even marks left by the P.E.F (Palestine Exploration Foundation), which today are quite far from the water. In addition, Highway 90 already passes under them, and driving near this place you can feel the difference in the water level then and now.
Dead Sea today
For thousands of years, in addition to mudflows from the northern part, the Jordan River flowed into the Dead Sea, emanating from the southern tip of Lake Kinneret, until Comrade Pinchas Rutenberg came.
It’s not that Pinchas Rutenberg completely cut off the water with the construction of the hydroelectric power station, but others did it for him a little later.
Thus, the main and permanent source that replenishes the Dead Sea with fresh water turned out to be on the other side of the Dgania platinum. The dam, built in the 30s of the 20th century, is opened only on rare occasions, when the winter is particularly rainy, so that the water does not flood coastal settlements. In recent decades, the dam was opened in the winter of 91/92 and 2003/2004.
The “Salt Aqueduct” runs along the western shore of Lake Kinneret, which catches water from salty surface sources on the northern part of Lake Kinneret and discharges this water after the dam.
Thus, the only constant replenishment of the Dead Sea is the “Salt Aqueduct”, which carries already salty water to the Dead Sea.
The Dead Sea is now drying up or receding by one meter every year. This is a very high rate of drainage of this reservoir, and for this reason people have long taken up their heads, paper, pencils, and began to draw rescue plans.
The plans, as you already understand, are on paper and have changed more than once. There were plans to desalinate the water along the Mediterranean coastline, using it instead of what was pumped out of the Kinneret lake, and the water from the Kinneret would flow into the Dead Sea, as it was before the construction of the platinum. There were also plans to connect the Dead Sea with canals from two other seas, the Red and the Mediterranean, but there has been silence for many years.
Once again, they recently started talking about a plan to connect the Red and Dead Seas with a canal, or pipe.
This time the project should be sponsored by a world bank, and two countries and one autonomy will take part in it. Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, since the sea runs along the territory of these three political entities. The project involves laying a pipe, some of the water from which will be desalinated and go to Jordan, Israel and the autonomy. Water that has not undergone desalination will end up in the sea. In addition, a hotel complex and entertainment complex will be built around part of the canal. This is the plan on paper, let's see it in execution.
A postage stamp was issued to encourage the public to pay attention to the problems of the Dead Sea.
With the draining of part of the Dead Sea, sinkholes began to form on its shore and further away, which in Hebrew are called “Bol'anim.” The sinkholes formed because the soil around the Dead Sea has been underwater for thousands of years and contains large amounts of salt. When the sea receded and mudflows coming from the mountains of the Judean desert began to wash away this salt, voids gradually formed.
These voids are now collapsing in the northern part of the Dead Sea, making wild beaches a dangerous place to be.
The length of the Dead Sea reaches 67 km, the maximum width is 18 km, and the maximum depth is 378 meters. But every year the water level drops by 1 meter - the sea retreats, leaving behind soil hypersaturated with salt. Rainwater washes away salt, and voids form in the soil, into which it is very easy to fall. There are about 1,200 sinkholes in Israel and Jordan, the depth of which sometimes reaches 25 meters. The greatest danger is posed by sinkholes that form along roads and near residential complexes.
The high percentage of salinity practically excludes the possibility of the existence of living organisms, hence the name of the lake. However, several species of tiny bacteria and one algae, Tunoliella, still live in the Dead Sea.
The mineralogical composition of the lake’s salt differs from the composition of salt in the water of other seas. It contains about 50.8% magnesium chloride, 30.4% sodium chloride, 4.4% potassium chloride and 14.4% calcium chloride. Thanks to this wealth, the Dead Sea has turned into a unique healing resort that attracts many tourists from all over the world. In addition to the unusual composition of salts, the reservoir is also famous for its healing mud, extracted from the bottom of the lake. The famous silt sulfide mud of the salt lake is highly mineralized, has a high content of iodine, hormone-like substances and bromine.
You can rub yourself with mud from large filled jugs installed on the shore:
The dirt must dry, and then it must be washed off. This procedure significantly helps people with joint problems.
Dead Sea mineral water is a clear, oily, viscous liquid with a temperature of approximately 30 degrees. Immersion in water brings considerable pleasure; due to the high density of water, a person does not drown in it, but experiences a feeling of weightlessness. Although the salinity of the water “holds” well on the surface, actually diving or swimming in the Dead Sea will be very difficult. It will be easier to sit in the water, like in a hammock. When immersed in water, you get the feeling that it is not water, but oil.
It must be said that here you have to take precautions: avoid cuts on salt crystals, the wounds from which take a very long time to heal, and also do not splash or dive, because... water can seriously burn the retina of the eye. If this does happen, the shore guards will come to the rescue with bottles of clean water. In general, it is recommended to stay in this water for no more than 20 minutes at a time on the Jordanian shore and no more than 15 minutes on the Israeli shore, where the water is even more highly mineralized.
Due to the fact that the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the planet, the sun's rays, covering an additional distance, lose all harmful ultraviolet radiation, so you can safely sunbathe as much as you like without harm to the body. The air here is absolutely clean of impurities, enriched with oxygen, and at the same time it has an increased content of bromine, which can restore a weakened nervous system and give the body additional strength.
The lake is fed by the waters of the Jordan River and streams flowing in winter from the slopes of the Moaf mountains on the side of Jordan and from the Judean mountains in Israel, and underground springs also contribute. The Jordan River daily brings about 7 million tons of water to the Dead Sea, which has no outlet, but the heat of the Jordan Valley evaporates it quite quickly. Physically, the lake consists of two basins connected by an artificial channel. Under the seabed lies a thick layer of salt, which was formed due to the evaporation of the Lashon Sea about a million years ago.
The Dead Sea is surrounded on all sides by desert. A unique lake appeared about 5 million years ago as a result of strong tectonic processes that created the Great Afro-Asian Rift. The earth's crust in this area is in constant motion to this day.
View of the Dead Sea from above:
The shores of the lake are no less interesting than the lake itself. In some places the water has evaporated, leaving large areas of salty, heat-cracked land, and just beyond them rise dry brown mountains. Further north these mountains turn red, and near the southern part of the lake there are pillars of salt.
An ancient legend is associated with one of these pillars. The Bible mentions the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were mired in vices and sins. Lot, a virtuous and God-fearing man, was warned that these cities would be destroyed in atonement for sins, and he and his family must leave these places. But none of his loved ones should turn around under any circumstances. Unfortunately, Lot's wife could not resist the desire to take one last look at the city and, according to legend, at that moment she turned into a huge pillar of salt, which still stands near the modern city of Sedom. Interestingly, there is a scientific explanation for this phenomenon: in 1988, the American chemist A. Klotz suggested that when Lot’s wife stopped to look at the city, she was covered by a wave of hot air from a blazing fire, in which there was a high concentration of carbon dioxide gas. This caused the combination of calcite with carbon dioxide in the body, and as a result of the instantly ensuing calcite crystallization, the woman turned into a motionless block of calcite, which in Hebrew was called “salt.”
Legend also says that Lot and his daughters found shelter near the Dead Sea after Sodom was destroyed. The cave in which Lot hid is located near Safi, Jordan.
A pillar of salt into which, according to local residents, Lot’s wife turned:
The historical authenticity of the existence of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah is questioned; they are mentioned only in biblical sources and are unknown to archaeology. But according to Russian researcher Yuri Kudinov, the place where Sodom and Gomorrah once stood is now flooded by the Dead Sea. Yuri managed to find a photograph of an ancient map, which is kept in one of the universities in Israel. On the map, these cities exist and are located where the rivers flow into the Dead Sea. Now these rivers have long since disappeared or they do not flow into the Dead Sea. To confirm his guesses, Yuri used a device such as a sonar, which, using reflected sound of a certain frequency, allows you to take a picture of the bottom. When the sonar records were deciphered, in some of the images scientists suspected objects that were clearly of man-made origin. Then Yuri Kudinov’s group began filming underwater using an autonomous underwater video camera equipped with its own engines and control system. The shooting was not easy - very dense water, when a ray of light hit it, produced a solid white wall in front of the lens. The matter was further complicated by the fact that the use of any watercraft on the Dead Sea is prohibited, so the team manually moved the raft with the equipment installed on it. The cable length was only 50 meters, so the research radius was significantly small. But even with all these factors, in four days it was possible to shoot a ten-minute film with a more or less distinguishable image, where you can quite clearly see an object lying at the bottom, similar to a column. There are other objects in the shape of large eggs, some circles overgrown with salt. That is, today we can say for sure that these are man-made objects. And the presence of a column indicates that there were some buildings in this place.
Salt flats of the Dead Sea:
According to the Bible, the Dead Sea served as a refuge for King David. In addition, it is the first resort in the world (created for Herod the Great), and it was here that a large number of substances were mined, ranging from balms for mummification in Ancient Egypt to a wide variety of fertilizers.
The Dead Sea is a hypersaline closed lake, one of the most unique places on Earth. I invite you to get acquainted with 10 interesting facts about this amazing place, some of which you probably didn’t know.
2. The depth of the Dead Sea is 377 meters, it is the deepest salt lake on Earth. It is worth clarifying here that a hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains high concentrations of table salt or other mineral salts, exceeding ocean water in salinity level
3. With a salinity of 33.7%, the Dead Sea is one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world. Although Lake Assal (Djibouti) and the McMurdo Frozen Lakes in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica may have slightly higher salinity
4. The unusually high concentration of salt means that people can easily float on the surface of the water naturally. In this respect, the Dead Sea is similar to the Salt Lake in Utah, USA
5. The water here is about 8.6 times saltier than the ocean. This percentage of salinity makes the water unsuitable for living beings, although tiny bacteria and microfungi are still present in it
6. The length of the Dead Sea is 67 kilometers, and the width at its maximum point is 18 kilometers. The main tributary of the lake is the Jordan River, and it is located above the East African Rift Zone
7. The Dead Sea area has become a major center for health research and there are several key reasons for this. The content of minerals in the water is unique, there is practically no pollen and other allergens in the atmosphere, due to the great depth there is less ultraviolet in solar radiation, and the atmospheric pressure is higher, which generally has a beneficial effect on health
8. According to the Bible, the Dead Sea was a refuge for King David. In addition, this is one of the first resorts in the world, as well as a supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to all kinds of fertilizers
9. An unusual feature of the sea is that natural asphalt forms here in the form of small pieces of a black substance. During the excavations, many figurines and other objects were discovered, including human skulls from Neolithic times, covered with this black bitumen. During Egyptian mummification, bitumen from the Dead Sea was also used
10. The lowest road in the world - Highway 90, runs along the shores of the Israeli and West Bank of the Jordan River at a depth of 393 meters below sea level
When Lot and his family fled from the collapsing Sodom, his wife could not resist and looked back at the dying city. It was impossible to do this, and therefore it turned into a huge pillar of salt, which can be seen on the coast of the Dead Sea to this day.
The Dead Sea is one of the most unusual and unique bodies of water on our planet. First of all, because in reality it is a lake into which the waters of the Jordan River and several other small rivers flow: about 7 million tons of water flow here every day, which, despite the fact that it does not flow out anywhere, due to the high air temperature, quite quickly evaporates.
Various minerals and salt from the Dead Sea brought by river waters remain and join the minerals already in the lake, turning it into one of the saltiest bodies of water on our planet (the salt concentration in the local water is 30%, while in the ocean it is 3.5%) .
Education
Many people are interested in the question, where is the Dead Sea? One of the largest salt lakes on our planet is located in the east of the Judean Desert. The western coast of the reservoir belongs to Jordan, the eastern – to Israel. On the map the Dead Sea can be found at the following coordinates: 31° 20′ 0″ N, 35° 30′ 0″ E.
The sea was formed at the very bottom of the Syrian-African Rift - a huge depression in the earth's crust formed due to the movement of continental plates (it begins in the south of Turkey and ends in Zimbabwe, in the southeast of the African continent). The movement of tectonic plates has made this territory seismically active: mild earthquakes occur here every year (people do not feel them, but instruments record them).
The process of formation of the Dead Sea is quite interesting. The depression was filled with oceanic waters, and over the course of millions of years, the remains of marine animals, fish, and plants settled to the bottom of the ocean, which subsequently formed calcareous rocks, while the water here was not constant: it came and went. Therefore, the layers of salt that the sun evaporated from sea water gradually mixed with layers of sedimentary rocks.
After some time, a permanent body of water formed here - the Lashon Sea (predecessor of the present one), the length of which exceeded 200 km, and the surface was 180 m below the level of the World Ocean. Volcanic eruptions completely blocked the channel connecting Lashon with the Mediterranean Sea - and it began to dry up. After Lashon completely dried up (this happened 17 thousand years ago), two bodies of water remained - the freshwater Lake Kinneret and the salty Dead Sea.
Currently, the Dead Sea consists of two separate basins, separated by an isthmus that appeared in 1977. Northern - a larger and deeper reservoir, the maximum depth of which is 306 meters and Southern - hotels and mineral mining enterprises are located here, which is why it gradually turned into an artificial reservoir, and therefore the water level here is regulated by man, and the average depth is about two meters.
The Dead Sea has the following parameters:
- The area of the salt lake is 650 km. sq. (over the last century it has decreased significantly - it was 930 sq. km.);
- Maximum width – 18 km;
- Length – 67 km (it is designated by summing the length of the southern and northern basins, the length of the latter being 54 km);
- The mud layer at the bottom is about 100 meters;
The water level of the Dead Sea as of December 2012 was 427 meters below sea level and is falling by one meter annually, making it one of the lowest land areas on our planet.
The coast of a unique sea
On the southern coast of the Dead Sea there are thermal springs and pools of greasy black mud, which have long been considered healing: it is absolutely known that King Herod bathed in them.
There are mountains and salty pillars here. Among them is Mount Sedom, whose height above sea level is 250 m, formed during powerful underground pressure that pushed a plug of salt to the surface. Now this mountain is a huge salt dome 11 km long and 1.5 km wide, cut by a huge number of caves (it is believed that there are at least a hundred of them here, and the total length is 20 km).
Caves are constantly being formed in this mountain: a few rains slowly dissolve the salt, destroying old caves and creating new ones in their place. The grottoes themselves are extremely beautiful - there are not only sinter formations, but also huge crystals.
In Mount Sedom, at a depth of 135 meters, there is the largest salt cave on our planet - Malham, whose length is 5.5 km.
Advantages
Of course, we are unlikely to know for sure the answer to the question why the Dead Sea is so unique that there are practically no analogues to it on our planet. At present, we can only make assumptions and record its features.
Dead Sea asphalt
The Dead Sea has an interesting feature: at its depths, natural asphalt is formed, which the lake throws to the surface in the form of small black pieces - at first they resemble a molten block of earth, and then, as they cool, they turn into a solid state. It is not difficult to collect it from the surface: the salt of the Dead Sea simply does not allow it to return to the bottom.
Interesting fact: during excavations on the coast, a huge number of figurines and other things were discovered, including human skulls from Neolithic times, covered with sea asphalt. It was also used by the ancient Egyptians when mummifying their dead.
Air of the Dead Sea
Interestingly, the air, the temperature of which often reaches 40° C, is so unique here that it cannot but cause surprise: due to the location of the Dead Sea below the level of the World Ocean, there is a zone of high atmospheric pressure, which is why the amount of oxygen in this region 15% higher than the amount of oxygen in the area, which is at the level of the World Ocean.
The local air contains absolutely no allergens: air masses come here mainly from the Indian Ocean, overcoming the desert sands, and therefore do not carry with them industrial pollution and allergens. Considering that evaporation from the surface of a lake saturated with minerals and the salt of the Dead Sea saturate the air with useful components, it clearly has a positive effect not only on healthy people, but also on people with diseased lungs.
Dead Sea climate
Since the Dead Sea is located near the desert, both the air temperature and the climate here are appropriate - according to statistics, there are 330 sunny days a year, there is little rain (mainly in January and February), and the average relative humidity in summer is 27%, in winter - 38 %.
In summer, the temperature ranges from 32 to 40° C, in winter – from 20 to 23° C. An interesting fact is that in the winter, the temperature of sea water, saturated with minerals, is much higher than the temperature of the earth, while in summer the opposite is true.
In the Dead Sea area, due to its location below the level of the World Ocean, weakened ultraviolet radiation is observed - therefore, it is extremely difficult to get sunburn here, and doctors recommend that even an unprepared person stay in the Sun for 6-8 hours.
This temperature and dry climate also has its drawbacks - the water of the Dead Sea evaporates very quickly, which, in combination with human activity, leads to its shallowing. If earlier the Jordan compensated for evaporation, now people use the river’s water to their advantage, and much less water now reaches the sea than before: over the past half century, the volume of the watercourse has decreased to 100 million cubic meters per year. (previously it was 1.43 billion cubic meters/year).
Dead sea salts
Dead Sea salt is 33.7% (350 grams per 1 liter of water), which is ten times the salinity level of ocean water. Therefore, due to the huge amount of salt, the water of the Dead Sea is thick, dense, oily to the touch and has a metallic blue tint.
People can safely swim in the lake without fear of drowning - the salt of the Dead Sea will not allow them to do this (it’s even difficult to choke here: swallowing such water is extremely disgusting - it is not only salty, but on top of that it also tastes bitter, and when it gets into your mouth and it numbs your tongue).
Swimming here is also not easy: it is best to lie down in the water and relax under the warm rays of the sun, as if in a hammock - fortunately, the temperature of both the air and the water allows this. The only “but”: if there is even the slightest scratch on the skin, it is better not to go into the water - Dead Sea salt, if it gets on the wound, will cause discomfort.
Dead Sea minerals
The unique characteristics of water and mud are influenced not so much by salt as by Dead Sea minerals. And their quantity here is simply off the charts - the waters of the lake contain more than twenty minerals, mostly of inorganic origin, and therefore do not contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, which is why they do not oxidize, maintaining their medicinal properties at the maximum level.
The main minerals of the Dead Sea are:
- Magnesium (30 to 34%) is an anti-stress mineral that calms the nervous system;
- Potassium (from 22 to 28%) – regulates the amount of fluid in the middle of the cell (in total they contain 4/5 of the water that is in the human body);
- Sodium (12 to 18%) – regulates the amount of fluid outside the cells;
- Bromine (0.2 to 0.4%) – penetrating into the blood through the skin, calming and relaxing the nervous system, has a positive effect on it;
- Iodine (0.2 to 0.9%) – has a positive effect on the thyroid gland, including growth, reproduction and activity of the nervous system, the functioning of nerve endings in muscles, skin and hair growth;
- Sulfur (0.1 to 0.2%) – disinfects the skin, and is also necessary for the formation of protein substances, vitamins B, B1, biotin, etc.
Dead Sea minerals, together with salt, mud, water and optimal temperature, have a positive effect on the human body, giving it the opportunity to get rid of skin diseases, allergies, problems with the lungs, bronchi, nerves, helps with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (ulcers, dysbacteriosis, gastritis, hepatitis). The body's metabolism and blood circulation significantly improve, skin elasticity increases, the aging process slows down, etc.
Dead Sea minerals are contraindicated for patients with schizophrenia, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, as well as people who have recently suffered a myocardial infarction, stroke, tuberculosis, or have problems with kidney and liver failure.
Inhabitants
Naturally, the question of why the Dead Sea is called dead if its climate, water, mud and salt are good for health cannot but be of interest.
The lake had many names (among them - Salty, Asphalt, Ancient, Sodom), and received the current one due to the fact that it was believed that due to the high salinity of the water, living organisms (primarily fish and sea animals) cannot live here. condition.
Recently it turned out that this is not entirely true: at the end of the last century, scientists discovered that the water of the Dead Sea is teeming with small organisms. About 70 species of moldy fungi live here, settled here long before the sea acquired salinity, which, having developed a new gene, adapted to the local water. Microscopic viruses were also discovered in the water of the salty sea, which are activated only after they enter a living organism, and outside the cells they take on the form of non-living particles.
20 species of archaea were found: microbes that thrive in a concentrated salt solution and live off the energy they convert from sunlight. Interesting fact: it turned out that 1 ml of Dead Sea water contains several million of these microbes (and if there are a lot of them, they give the water a reddish tint due to their pigment).
During rains, when the salinity of the water on the surface of the sea is slightly diluted, the pink flagellated algae dunaliella develops from the pores - the pigment protects it from sunlight, and the high content of glycerol in the plant, which retains moisture, prevents it from dying due to salt. It is interesting that these algae develop extremely quickly and actively: during the “blooming” period their number is several tens of thousands per milliliter. However, they do not live long in the Dead Sea and disappear as soon as the rains stop.
Having collected these facts, scientists suggested that the living organisms they found create a specific ecological system in which algae, archaea and fungi compete with each other for the substances necessary for their development, and viruses control their quantity.
Along the border with Jordan, between the Judean Mountains and the Moab plateau, stretches perhaps the most popular attraction in Israel - a unique large lake with the frightening name of the Dead Sea. We will explain later in the article why it is called that and why tourists from all over the world strive to get to its shores.
Meet the Dead Sea
Standing on the shore of this reservoir, it is impossible to take your eyes off it. incredibly beautiful! Blue-green water, in places with saturated mountains reflected in it, and the bright sun in the blue sky - all this does not in any way fit with the gloomy name of this place.
So why is the Dead Sea called that? Upon closer examination, you will find that there is no life either on the banks of this body of water or in it itself. There are no fish or arthropods here, and no algae grow. True, there are some types of fungi and bacteria in this water, but our ancestors did not know about this form of life, which is why they called the sea dead.
The lethality of its water can be explained by the fact that the percentage of salt content here is very high (300-350 ppm). If, for example, we compare this indicator with the Black Sea, then here it reaches only 18 ppm, and in the Red Sea - 41.
The same concentration of salt is found in only two other reservoirs on Earth - on Lake Baskunchak, which is located in the Astrakhan region (about 300 ppm), and on the small Antarctic Lake Don Juan (402 ppm).
Why is the Dead Sea so salty and why is it called that?
The dimensions of this lake are considerable: the length is 67 km, and the width in some places reaches 18 km, which is obviously why it was called the sea.
Some drying up streams also feed it from the north, but not a single river originates here - it turns out to be a kind of water trap. As a result of this state of affairs, as well as intense evaporation over time, various minerals accumulated in the reservoir, and the water became very salty.
Sea surrounded by salt
Many tourists want to see the Dead Sea in person. Why it is called that, visitors understand when they come closer to it and discover that along the coast there are white salt deposits in islands, the stones of the coastal cliffs are covered with salt, and the Sodom Mountains standing on its southwestern shore are completely composed of it, only on top they covered with a dense gypsum crust.
By the way, these mountains are still growing because underground pressure through cracks raises salt to the surface of the earth, which because of this becomes plastic.
But you understand that this, of course, is not. It contains the same minerals that are dissolved in the waters of the world's oceans, but at the same time in incredible concentration. Therefore, the Dead Sea is deadly for most living beings.
For example, a fish that accidentally swims from the Jordan River immediately dies in this brine, and the waves throw it ashore to the great joy of the birds that fly here for a treat.
Why is it dangerous?
Since ancient times, there has been a legend that the Dead Sea brings death to anyone who tries to swim on it or plunge into its waters. One can argue with the last statement, but why the Dead Sea is called dead for those who sail in a boat is understandable - the density of the water, due to the high concentration of salt here, is such that it pushes out any object immersed in it, so the boats are likely to capsize.
But a person who finds himself in this water does not drown. Yes, yes, in the Dead Sea you can lie on the quiet surface of the water and read a magazine, because the dense water does not allow you to dive into its thickness. By the way, you can only swim here on your back or on your side. It will not be possible to swim on your stomach; the water will persistently turn the swimmer onto his back.
What is it also called
When discussing why the Dead Sea was called dead, it is worth remembering that it has other names. For example, it is called Asphalt. This is due to the fact that asphalt was extracted from the bottom of the lake, which periodically rose to the surface of the water. It was used in the construction of ships, for tarring, and also for mummification. The last time an asphalt block weighing a ton rose from the bottom of the Dead Sea was in the 60s of the last century.
It is also called the Sea of Lot, or the Sea of Sodom. According to the Bible, it was formed on the site of the infamous city of Sodom, which was destroyed by a rain of fire for the countless sins of its inhabitants. Only one righteous man named Lot was able to escape from that terrible catastrophe. By the way, this is why fervent Christians and Jews do not plunge into the water of the Dead Sea and do not use cosmetics made from its salt.
About healthy salts
We learned why the Dead Sea is called dead, and now we will tell you about its benefits. Over the millennia, many unique minerals have accumulated in it. They contain calcium, sodium, magnesium chlorides, as well as many bromides. This set of salts has an excellent property - they can treat many skin diseases (especially psoriasis), improve blood circulation, relieve muscle tension and fight joint pathologies.
By the way, the beneficial properties of these minerals were discovered in ancient times. It’s not for nothing that a bath using Dead Sea salts is called Cleopatra’s bath.
And the climate of this area, which lies much below sea level (-416 m), significantly enhances the healing effect on the human body. All this taken together attracts many tourists who want to improve their health to the shores of the miraculous sea-lake.
Why it is called that, it is amazing in its healing qualities, but still a dead sea, you can feel it yourself if you do not take all precautions and do not take into account the local characteristics of the holiday.
To improve your health and not make your problems worse, remember:
- the water in the lake is very caustic, so you need to swim for no more than 15 minutes;
- you can be poisoned by Dead Sea water - do not swallow it, and the splashes you raise can get into the eyes of both you and other vacationers, which can lead to serious injury to the mucous membranes and painful consequences;
- if such a nuisance does happen, be sure to wash your eyes in the showers of those standing on the shore;
- while relaxing here, do not forget to drink plenty of fluids, which will not allow your body to lose a lot of fluid while swimming in the brine;
- staying on the local beach for more than three hours is unsafe for health;
- The Dead Sea (why it is called that is probably already clear to the reader) constantly retreats and leaves behind a shifting mud, on top of which a crust forms that seems solid from a distance, but if you step on it, you can fall into the black slurry, and to avoid this, You should only walk along designated paths and swim only on equipped beaches.
By the way, it is better to remove metal objects before swimming, because the Dead Sea water leads to metal corrosion.
The Dead Sea may die!
Nowadays, it’s no longer worth thinking for a long time, looking at the Dead Sea, why it is called that. This unique corner of nature may die in the coming years. Researchers predict that it will exist for no more than 80 years, and then the sea will die for real.
The fact is that every year it becomes shallower by 1 m, since in its vicinity, either as a result of natural anomalies, or as a result of human activity, the groundwater level has significantly decreased, which has led to the emergence of underground voids and failures. This means that you need to save the unique reservoir and hurry up to visit it while it is still able to bestow its healing power!