About herself deep depression, the Mariana Trench, you probably know, and TravelAsk has already talked about it. But did you know that there is a place on the planet that is almost half a kilometer below the level? Yes, Mother Earth surprises us all the time.

The deepest place on the planet

The Dead Sea is the lowest piece of land on Earth. That is, in fact, a person here is on land, and the sea level “says” that he is under water.

The Dead Sea coast is 417.5 meters below sea level. And it is also called Asphalt, Sodom and the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bsalt. There is a reservoir on the border of Jordan and Israel. It is quite understandable that the road around the Dead Sea is also the lowest road on Earth.

The sea is 67 kilometers long and only 18 kilometers wide in its largest section. The depth of the reservoir can boast: the maximum figure is 306 meters, and on average to the bottom from the surface of the water is 200 meters.

That is, imagine the lowest point of the seabed of the Dead Sea is 723 meters from the level of the world ocean!

And of course, the main feature of the Dead Sea is its salinity. This is one of the most salty reservoirs on the planet, the salt level is 300-310%, and in some years it reaches 350%.

Fact #1. Nobody lives in the Dead Sea because of its salinity. Or almost no one. About 70 species of oomycetes and higher fungi have been found here. They are not afraid of the salt level.

Fact #2. The water level in the Dead Sea falls every year by a meter. This is very scary for the reservoir and threatens an ecological disaster. So, the volume of water here has decreased from 325 cubic kilometers to 147. Moreover, the sea is practically divided into 2 parts due to such drainage.

The main reason is the activity of factories extracting minerals here, as well as climate change.

Fact #3. It was near the Dead Sea or even in its place (according to some versions) that the famous Sodom and Gomorrah were located. However, the search for ancient cities has not been successful. But at the bottom of the sea, anomalies similar to the ruins of the city were recorded from the satellite. And the mountains of rock salt in the south-west of the reservoir are called Sodom, although the origin of the name has not been fully established.

Fact #4. The level of minerals in the water of the Dead Sea is approximately 30%.

Fact #5. There is a project to transfer water from Krasnoe and mediterranean sea in the Dead. The cost of building the canal is estimated at $4 billion.

Fact #6. It was on the shores of the Dead Sea that the biblical Lot found shelter with his daughters after the destruction of Sodom. Here you can even see the pillar of salt, which turned into the wife of Lot.

Fact #7. In the vicinity of the Dead Sea, the Qumran manuscripts belonging to the ancient Jewish sect of the Essenes were found. They date back to around the 2nd century BC. Their principles were very similar to the gospel commandments. A Bedouin boy found them by accident in 1947. Scientists believe that it was the teachings of the Essenes that paved the way for the perception of Christianity.

Who is in second and third place

The second place is occupied by the coast of Lake Assal in Djibouti, it lies 155 meters below sea level. In third place is the Death Valley desert in California - this is the lowest point of both Americas, 86 meters below sea level.

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There are many unique natural objects in the world. Of course, like any other person, I would dream of seeing all of them, and therefore I could not ignore the place that I want to talk about in this essay. Moreover, it is unique in several of its parameters at once. Firstly, this lake has no analogues in terms of water composition, and secondly, the shores of this lake are the lowest land point on the planet.

As you might have guessed, we are talking about the Dead Sea. In fact, it is not a sea, but a lake belonging to the class of hypersaline lakes. There are not so many reservoirs with such a concentration of salts on the planet, and the composition of the salts, moreover, is unique. The shores of the Dead Sea belong to two countries: Israel and Jordan. I was lucky to be on the Israeli side.

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Despite the fact that the coastal zone is densely built up, the landscape is rather dull. Affects the absence fresh water.

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We stayed at the Le Meridien hotel, we liked it very much. No, I didn't get paid to advertise. :)

The uniqueness of the water composition is due to the fact that the lake was formed on the site of the Syrian-African fault, as a result of which the outputs of various minerals enter the water. Unlike other hypersaline lakes, the salt composition of the Dead Sea is more diverse and has a high content of bromides and iodides. It is believed that its water has a number of medicinal properties, and therefore hotels are located on the banks, in which people who come from all over the world stop to improve their health.

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Almost all hotels have pools with Dead Sea water.

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Since many disabled people come for treatment, most hotels offer a service for people with disabilities.

Since the lake itself is located on the fault site, its shores are located well below sea level, and are the lowest point on land, in some places dropping to a mark of 420 meters below sea level. Given that the fault continues to deepen, this value changes by -1 m year.

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The lowest McDonald's on Earth.

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You can’t swim in the Dead Sea for a long time, so many hotels have fresh water pools.

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General view of the area.

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It is not entirely clear why the lifeguards are here.

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Due to the high salinity, it is almost impossible to drown, this is not shallow water, people really lie on the water.

The feeling when you enter the water is quite unusual - as if you are walking not on water, but on oil, or on a thick viscous substance that elastically resists when exposed. The water in the Dead Sea is more than 8 times richer in salt than ocean water, and it tastes acrid and bitter (yes, I tried a couple of drops). It is impossible to stay in it for a long time, since the beneficial effect develops into a harmful one. The recommended time is 5-10 minutes. Tourists who come to the lake for one day will not be cured of anything, of course. To get a significant effect, you need to live on the beach for at least a couple of weeks, taking the procedures daily. However, if you are not sick with anything, then it is better not to rest in these places, because the entertainment infrastructure is not developed, and there is only one desert around. As for indications, Dead Sea water is especially often prescribed for people with skin diseases, psoriasis or eczema.

Imagine that you live in such a remote place that the mail comes to you once a year or you have reached the top of the highest place on Earth.

There are places unique in their kind, which are difficult to reach, which are famous for their extreme temperature, height, depth and other characteristics.

highest point on earth

Everest, at an altitude of 8848 m, is known as highest peak on Earth, and indeed it is. However, it still depends on how you look at it. Technically, Everest's rocky peak is the highest piece of land above sea level. But since the Earth is not a perfect sphere, some of the lower points are actually "higher" in space. Mount Everest is less close to the moon and stars than another mountain that is relatively obscure and this is - Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador. Its height is 6268 m, and despite the fact that it is not as high as Everest, it is actually closer to outer space due to the uneven shape of the Earth.

The highest point that can be reached by transport

In Tibet, the road Semo La, whose height is 5.565 m, will take you through an incredible beautiful view and a dangerous pass. It is believed that the road Marsimik La is the highest pass in the world, but it all depends on what road can be considered accessible. By road Semo La can be reached vehicle. The authorities believe that there are other higher and more distant roads, but they have not yet been documented.

The most remote island on earth

The most remote inhabited archipelago in the world is Tristan da Cunha which is located in the southern part Atlantic Ocean. His main island so small that it doesn't have a runway. About 300 people live on the island, sharing only 8 surnames, because of which the inhabitants of the country suffer from hereditary diseases such as asthma and glaucoma. The island was annexed by Great Britain in the 1800s and has a British postal code. And despite the fact that residents can order goods online, the delivery of goods takes a very long time. The island settlement itself is located 3200 km from the nearest continent.

deepest point in the ocean

Mariana Trench, southwest of Guam in pacific ocean, is an deepest point world ocean. Its depth is 10,924 meters. If Mount Everest were placed in a trough, it would be covered with water for more than 1 mile. The pressure at the bottom of the trough is a thousand times stronger than at sea level. In 1960, the US Navy sent two naval officers to the bottom of a trough on the bathyscaphe Trieste. They were able to observe fish, shrimp and other creatures living on the ocean floor.

The lowest point on earth

The Dead Sea is the lowest piece of land that is below sea level, at 423 m. On the border of Jordan and Israel, the road around the Dead Sea is also the lowest road on Earth. Due to the strong salinity, the Dead Sea is considered dead in the literal sense of the word, since not a single creature can live there.

The coldest, driest and wettest place on Earth

Antarctica This is a place of extremes. It is not inhabited all year round by people, as it is too cold here. In 1983, scientists recorded the lowest air temperature on Earth and it was 89.2 degrees below zero. Antarctica is also considered the wettest place and at the same time the driest place on Earth. It is considered the wettest not because of the rains, but simply because it is 98 percent covered in ice, and is technically very wet. However, since it is the coldest place on Earth, the least amount of precipitation is observed here - less than 5 cm per year, which makes Antarctica practically a desert.

The largest net vertical drop on Earth

Mount Thor in national park Auyuittuq on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada represents 1.2 km of net vertical elevation difference. Mount Thor is the most famous peak in Canada and is made from pure granite. It is one of the favorite peaks for thrill-seekers and climbers.

The deepest ice on Earth

hollow bentley in Antarctica, it is a phenomenally thick layer of ice, whose depth is 2,555 m. It is the lowest point on Earth that is not covered by an ocean. The Bentley Basin is the size of Mexico, technically covered with water (ice), so the Dead Sea is still considered the lowest point on Earth.

The lowest landmasses on Earth

When we talk about the most high places on the planet, we clearly imagine the peaks of the largest mountain ranges reaching heights of more than 8 kilometers above sea level. But not everything is so obvious when it comes to the lowest places on Earth. What are they and how high are they? However, many people know that it is these land areas that are located so low that even sea level will rise above them. And only unique geographical location and geological characteristics allow these places not to be absorbed by the waters of the oceans. Let's get acquainted with some of them, the lowest on their continent.

View of the Dead Sea from space

Let's start with Dead Sea in Asia. He is also called salty sea. It is located between Palestine, Israel and Jordan. Its shores and surface are 422 meters below sea level. This is the lowest piece of land on Earth.

View of the Dead Sea from the Israeli coast towards Jordan

Followed by lake Assal in Africa, it is located in Djibouti, Ethiopia. The lake lies 155 meters below sea level in the lowlands Afar. This is the lowest landmass in Africa and the second on Earth after the Dead Sea. The water here is one of the most saline in the world - 34.8% salt concentration, which exceeds the concentration in the Dead Sea and ten times the salinity level in the ocean.

Lake Assal

IN Antarctica there is a place called Westfold Hills which is located at a depth of 50 meters below sea level. By the way, the most deep place on Earth, not covered by liquid water - hollow bentley in Antarctica with a depth of 2555 meters below sea level. The depression is covered with a huge layer of ice. The deepest place on earth covered with liquid water Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.

Westfold Hills

There are similar places in North America . Death Valley- a desert located in the southwestern United States. This intermountain depression is the lowest, driest, and hottest place in America. The area called bad water in Death Valley - the lowest place in the US, 86 meters below sea level. Surprisingly, this point is only 76 miles east of Mount Whitney, the highest point at 4422 meters. Death Valley is also considered the place where one of the highest temperatures on Earth was recorded, July 13, 1913 in locality Furnace Creek temperature rose to 56.7 degrees C. Only the world record of 58 degrees, recorded in Libya on September 13, 1922, is higher.

Death Valley

IN South America located Laguna del Carbon (Coal Lagoon) with a depth of 105 meters below sea level. It is a salt lake and is located in Argentina. It is the lowest point in the Western in the Southern Hemispheres and the seventh lowest point on Earth. Let's pay tribute to the quality of the pavement in the Argentinean desert...

Laguna del Carbon

lowest point Europe - Caspian Sea. Its basin area is 371,000 square kilometers, which is about 10 percent of the world's closed water basins. The ancient inhabitants considered the Caspian Sea an ocean, probably because of its salinity and apparent immensity. The sea is a drainless lake, and the water in it is salty, with an average salinity of 1.2%. This is the lowest place in Europe - 28 meters below sea level.

Caspian Sea

And finally, Australia. There is also a place here Lake Eyre is the lowest point in Australia. Its shores and islands are located at a depth of 15 meters below sea level in the very center of the vast Eyre Basin.

The Dead Sea phenomenon has long attracted the attention of scientists. Despite the fact that there are other similar bodies of water on Earth (for example, Lake Assal, which is considered the saltiest in the world), it is the Dead Sea that is of the greatest interest. After all, the events described in the Bible took place on its banks. High salinity makes the water of the Dead Sea unsuitable for living organisms to live in it, with the exception of a few types of bacteria - and at the same time gives it a healing power. Every year, thousands of people come here to get medical treatment, taking thermal and mud baths.
The famous Qumran manuscripts were found in the vicinity of the Dead Sea. These are more than 600 manuscripts proving that the Jewish sect of the Essenes in the 2nd century BC professed principles surprisingly similar to the gospel commandments.

The Dead Sea basin is located between Israel and Jordan and extends to the African continent. Its age is estimated at 12,000 years, and the first information about the Dead Sea can be found in the Bible, where it is called the "Salt Sea", which feeds water sacred river Jordan. The length of the Dead Sea is 80 km, and the maximum width - between the mountains of Moab in the east and the Judean Desert in the west - is about 18 km.
Thus, the total area of ​​the sea is approximately 1200 km2. Northern part it is much deeper than the central one, where average depth is about 10 m. The lowest point of the seabed is at a depth of 794 m from the level of the Mediterranean Sea. The name "Dead Sea" is, in fact, incorrect. In fact, this is not a sea, but a lake that knows no ebb and flow. However, the water level in it is constantly changing depending on the season. The high salt content in the Dead Sea is explained by the fact that it is endorheic. The water of the Jordan that enters it does not go anywhere. Under the scorching sun, it quickly evaporates, and the salts contained in it gradually accumulate. Therefore, the lake is not very suitable for a real beach holiday. However, the history and unique properties of the Dead Sea waters have made it extremely attractive for tourists.

general information

Inland Sea on the Israeli-Jordanian border.
The water area of ​​the sea is divided into two basins.
The lowest point on the surface of the Earth.
One of the saltiest natural bodies of water in the world.

Economy of the REGION

The chemical industry is mainly the production of pharmaceuticals and fertilizers.
Extraction of bromine, potassium, magnesium.

Tourism.

Climate and weather

Subtropical.

The average temperature is about 25ºС. But even 50ºС is far from uncommon here.

Attractions

■ Judean desert.
■ The area of ​​Qumran, where members of the Essenes community lived.
■ Murabbat canyon.
■ Fortress Masada.
■ The place where the city of Sodom was located.
■ Hot springs in Ein Gedi.

Curious facts

■ "Dead Sea" - that's how he dubbed it salt Lake Greek scientist Pausanias, who was the first to explore its waters.
■ The photo on the left is not a montage at all: on the surface of the Dead Sea one can really lie quietly and read a newspaper.
■ The first scrolls with manuscripts from Qumran were found quite by accident by a Bedouin boy in 1946.
■ Today the Qumran scrolls are exhibited in two museums