Uncertain Future
The Dead Sea has been steadily shrinking for the past five decades, thanks to the diversion of water for agricultural and other purposes by both Israel and Jordan. It has been estimated that it may cease to exist by 2050 at the current rate of water diversion and evaporation. Israel and Jordan have agreed to a plan for the conservation of the Dead Sea, through the construction of a pipeline from the Gulf of Aqaba.
References
Fast Facts
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Nicknames
Bahr Lut, Eastern Sea, Lake of Asphalt, Salt Sea, “Sea of Sodom and Gomorrah,” Sea of the Arabah, Sea of the DevilBible Places: History
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Fact:
2nd saltiest body of water in world, after Lake Asal in Djibouti
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Located along a long fissure called the [http
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_Valley Great Rift Valley]
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Fact:
Lake spits up small balls of asphalt
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Fact:
Nothing lives in the Dead Sea
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Fact:
Black mud from the sea is used in therapeutic treatments and cosmetics
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Basin countries
Jordan, Israel, West Bank
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Lake Type
endorheic hypersaline
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Primary inflows
Jordan Rivera
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Catchment area
40,650 km2 (15,700 sq mi)
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Max length
67 km (42 mi)
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Max. width
18 km (11 mi)
