Dead Sea (Details)

The saltiest major body of water and lowest land surface on Earth/Oceans & Seas

The Dead Sea, bordering Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank, lies at approximately 430 m below sea level, making its shores the lowest exposed land surface on Earth. The lake is about 50 km long and 15 km wide, with a surface area of roughly 605 square kilometers (shrinking due to diversion of feeder rivers). Its salinity of about 34% (nearly ten times the ocean) makes it impossible for most organisms to survive, hence the name, but allows bathers to float effortlessly. The sea has been receding at about 1 m per year.