Dead Sea: Let’s Float

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Don’t go with the name,The Dead Sea. Though it sounds dead, it acts like giving the life to people. Along with being a popular tourist destination, swimming in it acts as a health treatment.

It is also known as a salty lake because it is full of salt. Situated at the border of Israel and Jordan. It is the landlocked, lowest place on Earth. Roman Era visitors to Judea had begun to call this sea as ‘Dead Sea’. They were mostly struck with how the waters were devoid of all life-forms, whether plants or living creatures. Here is no fear of sharks. Most of the tourists enjoy a mineral-rich swim like mud treatments and salt baths which leads to many health benefits.

The Dead Sea lies in a desert. Rainfall is scanty and irregular which helps in increasing the concentration of salt. The Dead Sea water has a density of 1.24 kg/liter, which makes swimming similar to floating. The moment your feet touches water, you feel as if they are being pushed up. As you go deeper you feel your body become lighter and buoyant. Your body will feel relaxed and calm. It has near to zero probability of drowning. But instead of the risk of drowning, excessive salt entering the body can threaten the life of amateur swimmers. People are advised not to dive in the water thus safeguarding the people from this risk.

Is Dead Sea really Dead?

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. During the rainy season, salt concentration in the sea reduces leading to the growth of bacterias. In 1980, after rainy days, the Dead sea turned red due to the exceptional growth of an alga called Dunaliella. No such event has been reported after 1980.

Dead Sea is shrinking at an alarming rate – the surface level is dropping more than a metre (3ft) a year. When you consider that the surface of the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the planet – currently 420m (1,380ft) below sea level – that means that the planet’s lowest point is being recalibrated on an annual basis.