The Dead Sea

Why is it called the Dead Sea?

It's called the Dead Sea because nothing lives in it. There is no seaweed or moss that collects on the bottom or any fish or creatures living in or near the water. As a matter of fact, what you'll see on the shores of the Dead Sea is white crystals of salt covering EVERYTHING.

The salts found in the Dead Sea are mineral salts, just like any other ocean except these salts are extremely concentrated. The water in the Dead Sea is so concentrated that it is considered deadly to all living things EXCEPT humans. We can swim in the Dead Sea just like any other body of water except people don't really "swim", we float! Because the Dead Sea is extremely concentrated with dissolved mineral salts, the water density is much greater then any other salt water including the ocean. So instead of swimming in the Dead Sea, you just float on top of the water like a cork.

How did the Dead Sea Form?

In this part of the world there is a rift forming where two crustal plates are spreading apart. The East Rift Valley runs through most of Africa, but it starts north of the Dead Sea and runs south along the eastern side of the continent. The Sea is located right along the Rift Valley were the Earth's crust is being stretched thin.

To get an idea of how this "crustal spreading" occurs, take a bar of taffy and try to pull it apart. You'll see where the candy starts stretch it gets really thin just before it breaks. That's what is happening to the Earth's crust in the Rift Valley. Where the Earth's crust gets thin that part of the surface sinks lower. The Dead Sea is still sinking lower even today. Scientists figure the Dead Sea sinks an average of 13 inches each year! On a geologic time scale that's incredibly fast!