Dead Sea in winter |
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The Solt
It is evident that grows shallow sea: near the water salt deposits still quite clean |
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The Dead Sea, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the
east, and Israel to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft)
below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. It is
one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. It is 8.6
times more salty than the ocean.
In the Bible, the Dead Sea is called the Salt Sea, the Sea of the Arabah, and
the Eastern Sea. The designation “Dead Sea” is a modern name which never appears
in the Bible.
The sea is called "dead" because its high salinity prevents macroscopic aquatic
organisms, such as fish and aquatic plants, from living in it, though minuscule
quantities of bacteria and microbial fungi are present.
The Dead Sea was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great),
and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for
Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and
the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. |
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Cleopatra, image at the Siria coin |
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They say,
pharaoh Cleopatra VII used the Dead Sea therapeutic
power to healing her skin.
They say, Queen of Sheba discovered the Dead Sea therapy fitness. Then
pharaoh Cleopatra went from Egypt
to Dead Sea coast to arrange the SPA there. |
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Dead Sea at the World Map
Dead Sea on the World Map
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A lot of foam on the waves - because there is an incredible percentage
of salt in the water. |
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The beach in Jordan
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The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea,
although there are small perennial springs. There are no outlet streams.
The Dead Sea's climate offers year-round sunny skies and dry air. A summer
average temperatures range between 32 and 39 °C (90 and 102 °F). Winter -
between 20 and 23 °C (68 and 73 °F).
Sufferers of the skin disorder psoriasis also benefit from the ability to
sunbathe for long periods in the area due to its position below sea level and
subsequent result that many of the sun's harmful UV rays are reduced.
The Dead Sea area has become a major center for health research and treatment
for several reasons. The mineral content of the water, the very low content of
pollens and other allergens in the atmosphere, the reduced ultraviolet component
of solar radiation, and the higher atmospheric pressure at this great depth each
have specific health effects. For example, persons suffering reduced respiratory
function from diseases such as cystic fibrosis seem to benefit from the
increased atmospheric pressure
Thus, the region's climate and low elevation have made it a popular center for
several types of therapies:
* Climatotherapy: Treatment which exploits local climatic features such as
temperature, humidity, sunshine, barometric pressure and special atmospheric
constituents
* Heliotherapy: Treatment that exploits the biological effects of the sun's
radiation
* Thalassotherapy: Treatment that exploits bathing in Dead Sea water
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The shower is just near the sea
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There are not a nigger's feet, it's the healing mud
And the sand - it's half-white salt. Also medicinal! Treatment involves flushing mud are useful in the seawater to the salt effect upon the body. |
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There are all for the rest and treatment: |
the warm sea, beach, cozy hotels |
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the unique spa treatments, healing mud, salt and the sea water. |
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The mineral content of the Dead Sea is very different from that of ocean water.
The exact composition of the Dead Sea water varies mainly with season, depth and
temperature. In the early 1980s, the concentration of ionic species (in g/kg) of
Dead Sea surface water was Cl− (181.4), Br− (4.2), SO42− (0.4), HCO3− (0.2),
Ca2+ (14.1), Na+ (32.5), K+ (6.2) and Mg2+ (35.2). The total salinity was 276 g/kg.[9]
These results show that w/w% composition of the salt, as anhydrous chlorides,
was calcium chloride (CaCl2) 14.4%, potassium chloride (KCl) 4.4%, magnesium
chloride (MgCl2) 50.8% and sodium chloride (common salt, NaCl) 30.4%. In
comparison, the salt in the water of most oceans and seas is approximately 97%
sodium chloride. The concentration of sulfate ions (SO42−) is very low, and the
concentration of bromide ions (Br−) is the highest of all waters on Earth. The
sea itself is abundant in minerals acclaimed to have therapeutic value.
Anyone can easily float in the Dead Sea because of natural
buoyancy. In this respect the Dead Sea is similar to the Great Salt Lake in Utah
in the United States.
Many animal species live in the mountains surrounding the Dead Sea. Hikers can
see camels, ibex, hares, hyraxes, jackals, foxes, and even leopards. Hundreds of
bird species inhabit the zone as well. Both Jordan and Israel have established
nature reserves around the Dead Sea.
In recent decades, the Dead Sea has been rapidly shrinking because of diversion
of incoming water from the Jordan River to the north. The southern end is fed by
a canal maintained by the Dead Sea Works, a company that converts the sea's raw
materials. From a depression of 395 m (1,296 ft) below sea level in 1970[20] it
fell 22 m (72 ft) to 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level in 2006, reaching a drop
rate of 1 m (3 ft) per year. As the water level decreases, the characteristics
of the Sea and surrounding region may substantially change.* |
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*From Dead Sea. Jordan. Photos
At a regional conference in July 2009, officials expressed concern about the
declining water levels. Some suggested industrial activities around the Dead Sea
might need to be reduced. Others advised environmental measures to restore
conditions such as increasing the volume of flow from the Jordan River to
replenish the Dead Sea. Currently, only sewage and effluent from fish ponds run
in the river's channel. Experts also stressed the need for strict conservation
efforts. They said agriculture should not be expanded, sustainable support
capabilities should be incorporated into the area and pollution sources should
be reduced.
In December 2013, Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority signed an
agreement for laying a water pipeline to link the Red Sea with the Dead Sea. The
pipeline will be 180 km (110 mi) long and is estimated to take up to five years
to complete. In January 2015 it was reported that the level of water is now
dropping by 1 m (3 ft) a year.
| Year |
Water level (m) |
Surface(km2) |
| 1930 |
−390 |
1050 |
| 1980 |
−400 |
680 |
| 1992 |
−407 |
675 |
| 1997 |
−411 |
670 |
| 2004 |
−417 |
662 |
| 2010 |
−423 |
655 |
| 2014 |
−429 |
600 |
Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea
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