Why can you float in the Dead Sea?
Quick answer
You can float easily in the Dead Sea because its water is extremely salty, about 34% salt, roughly ten times saltier than the ocean. All that dissolved salt makes the water much denser than the human body, so it pushes swimmers up. The Dead Sea lies between Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west.
Key facts
- Salinity
- About 34%, around 10 times the ocean
- Shoreline
- About 430 m below sea level, the lowest land on Earth
- Borders
- Jordan, Israel and the West Bank
- Main inflow
- Jordan River
Why it’s so salty
The Dead Sea is a terminal lake: the Jordan River flows in, but no water flows out. In the hot, dry climate, water evaporates, leaving the salts behind. Over thousands of years, they’ve built up to extreme levels. The same process formed the Great Salt Lake.
Why “dead”?
The water is too salty for fish or plants to live in. Only some salt-loving microbes survive; see which organisms lack a nucleus.
The lowest place on land
The Dead Sea’s shore, at roughly 430 m (1,410 ft) below sea level, is the lowest point on land on Earth. That number keeps falling, because the sea is shrinking by about 1 m a year, as water from the Jordan River is diverted for farming and drinking. Shrinking has created thousands of dangerous sinkholes along the shore.
Floating tips
- Lie back and let the water lift you; it’s hard to swim normally.
- Don’t get water in your eyes or mouth; it stings badly.
- Avoid shaving before going in, and don’t stay too long.
- Rinse off with fresh water afterward.
Many visitors cover themselves in the dark, mineral-rich mud along the shore.
Dead Sea Scrolls
In 1947, shepherds found ancient scrolls in caves at Qumran, near the northwest shore. The Dead Sea Scrolls, written about 2,000 years ago, include the oldest known copies of books of the Hebrew Bible.
Saltier waters
The Dead Sea isn’t quite the saltiest water on Earth. Lake Assal in Djibouti and Don Juan Pond in Antarctica are even saltier; see where the Danakil Depression is for the hot, salty landscapes near Lake Assal.
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