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The Dead Sea
 The
Dead Sea is actually a big inland lake 76 KM long, up to 18 KM wide and
it is 400 meters deep at the deepest point.
The name "Dead Sea" for the Hebrew "Yam Hamelach" (Salt Sea) was attributed
by Christian Monks, astonished by the apparent absence of any form of life
in the sea water. Recent scientific research however, discovered 11 types
of bacteria in the water; but in wells sometimes only one meter from the
Dead Sea shore - for example in Ein Zuqim (Ein Faskha) in the north Dead
Sea area, live unique, indigenous small fish. This species evolved from
big carp common in the Lake Tiberias; these small fish are sometimes surprised
by a wave of very salty water, but have adapted to survival in these hard
conditions.
The area offers fascinating landscapes:
In the southern sector, mushroom-like hills from a mixture of minerals and
sand were sculpted by erosion from wind and floods in the mountains of Judean
the desert.
In the northern sector, threatening rocky cliffs rise hundreds of meters
high, with sweet water streams and waterfalls in beautiful Nature Reserves,
full of flora and fauna.
Describing the region, the biblical geographer George Adam Smith says: "surely
there is no region of earth where Nature and History have more cruelly conspired,
where so tragic a drama has obtained so awful a theater" (Historical Geography
of the Holy Land, 1894) an obvious hint to the biblical story and fate of
Sodom and Gomorrah.
In connection to the Dead Sea there are several superlatives:
- The lowest
- The saltiest
- The healthiest
We will explore each of them.
The lowest
The Dead Sea shore is the lowest dry point in the world; today the level
of the Dead Sea is 412 meters below the Mediterranean Sea level.
How was this unique phenomenon formed? The Dead Sea is a section of the
great Syrian-African rift valley fault, whose geological layers formed a
deep valley, after the eastern mountain formations moved northwards.
In all, the eastern mountains moved about 105 KM northwards, so we can find
mountains today with a particular mineral content in the area of Eilat,
and mountains with the same structure and content in the area of Petra -
about 100 KM further north on the eastern side of this valley.
Dramatic changes occurred when new shifts of the mountains took place in
recent millennia, deepening mainly the northern part of the Dead Sea. 6,000
years ago, the Dead Sea level dropped to 700 meters below the Mediterranean
Sea level, as evidenced from under-water canyons in the Dead Sea. Changes
in conditions were also studied by bore holes in the area, which show different
layers of sediments.
2,000 - 3,000 years ago, the level of the Dead Sea was 360 meters below
the Mediterranean Sea level. However, diversion of sweet water from the
Jordan river since 1950, by both Jordan and Israel, has reduced to less
than the half the flow of water from the Jordan river into the Dead Sea.
Today, water evaporation is faster than the water supply and the sea is
gradually shrinking.
This fall of the Dead Sea level has caused another strange and problematic
phenomenon in the area. At points where rivers flow into the Dead Sea, (such
as Nahal David and Nahal Arugot in the Ein Gedi
area), some hundreds of meters before the Dead Sea shore, the water is absorbed
by the sandy ground and underground streams further into the Sea. Because
of the fall in the Dead Sea level, the underground rivers stream flow faster,
and carrying clay sediments: thus large underground caves have been formed,
which sometimes collapse unexpectedly, and people have fallen down holes
a few meters deep. This happened to a foreign tourist on the Ein Gedi camping
site, who was walking along the pavement and suddenly fell some meters down.
The camping site is now closed because of this danger. In the date orchard,
one farmer from Kibbutz Ein Gedi fell into a similar hole and gave the alarm
from his cellular phone.
There have been various plans to bringin water through a canal from the
Mediterranean Sea to the Dead Sea, and use the power for electicity production,
but this project was frozen both for economic reasons and because the ecological
effects on the quality of the groundwater along the canal route had been
insufficiently researched.
The saltiest
Further South, the Red Sea was also formed by the Syrian-African rift, but
sea water was not able to flow through to the more northerly part of the
fault, because sand and deposits had blocked the valley.
About 3,000,000 years ago, the northern part of the valley was still connected
with the Mediterranean Sea by the valleys of Galilee and the sea arm thus
formed stretched from Lake Tiberias to about 40 KM south of the present
Dead Sea shore, with the level at about 180 meters below the Mediterranean
Sea.
This sea arm was cut off from the sea about 2,000,000 years ago by the fall
of the sea level, and thus became a lake, with its only water supply being
the sweet water from the sources of Jordan river in Mount Hermon, from a
few other rivers streaming from both sides of the fault, and floods from
mountain rain, bringing with them sand and deposits. In this way, the sandy
Jordan valley was formed and only the river bed of the Jordan river connected
Lake Tiberias with the Dead Sea.
The Jordan river carried salt with it to its last and lowest point - the
Dead Sea, which has no outlet. The dry climate, led to rapid evaporation,
leaving the salt and minerals in the lake - which became more salty. In
high summer, the evaporation rate can reach up to 25 millimeters a day.
The Dead Sea receive additional mineral supply from salt and sulphur springs
on its shores.
The salinity of the Dead Sea in the upper water layer is about ten times
that of the Mediterranean Sea - about 30%.
The water in the Dead Sea is therefore heavier, which is why people swimming
in the Dead Sea float; they can even read a paper while lying on their back
in the water. This weight of the water mineral-laden is even more concentrated
in the lower water layers on the floor of the Dead Sea, and has had another
geological effect in the south sector. Here because of the heaviness, sedimentary
salt and other layers have been pushed sidewards and upwards over the last
20,000 years at a rate of about 3.3 mm a year. This is how the mountain
of Sodom were formed.
The healthiest
In the Dead Sea area various hot springs have been developed as Spa resorts
for treatment of rheumatic and skin problems.
Because of the additional of 400 meters of atmosphere, ultraviolet radiation
is sufficiently filtered out to prevent sunburn, so tanning in the Dead
Sea area is less dangerous, although it is always advisable to use sunblock
and adapt gradually.
People suffering from Psoriasis have found the Dead Sea atmosphere and swimming
in the sea very helpful.
Smearing mineral rich Dead Sea mud on the body, provides a healing process
for the skin, and broadens the capillary veins. It is known that King Solomon,
Queen Cleopatra and Herod the Great all visited the Dead Sea for these cures.
Living in the Dead Sea area
The name of the Dead Sea was given only after the rise of Christianity.
None of the early peoples living there throughout the centuries used this
name. Despite the arid climate, people have lived in this area for thousands
of years and from the Chalcolithic period onwards (fifth till fourth century
B.C.E.) knew how to exploit the advantages of the area.
In ancient times, the Dead Sea had several names such as "Hayam Haqadmoni"
(the ancient sea), "Yama shel Sedom" (the Sea of Sodom), "Yam Ha'arava"
(the Arava valley sea) "Hayam Hamsriah" (the stinking sea - because of the
smell of sulphur).
Sodom is mentioned in the Bible as a town where people lived in such prosperity,
that even Lot's wife looked back with regret and nostalgia. But human occupation
along the Dead Sea coast did not come to an end with the Lord's destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:16-19:29). It was a place for political refuge
for over 2,000 years ago, and refugees included King David, Herod the Great,
the Essenes, and the fighters of the Bar Kochba revolt. Economic exploitation
began as early as the time of the Nabateans, who sold bitumen to Egyptians
for their embalming business, and this trade continued into the Roman era.
Remnants of Jewish communities have been found in Ein Gedi, in Qumran, and
on Mount Massada. The latter was posibly only
a place of refuge for King Herod the Great, later becoming a fortification
in the revolt against the Romans.
In the Ein Gedi area remnants have been found from the Iron Age (630-582
B.C.E.), the Persian Empire (fifth - fourth century B.C.E), Hellinistic
period, early Roman period, late Roman and Byzantine periods (second - sixth
century C.E) and the Crusader period.
Today, the Dead Sea is exploited by industry, such as the Dead Sea Works
at Sodom, which extract potassium and some other chemicals for magnesium,
bromide and iodide; there is a cosmetic products industry at Mitzpe Shalem.
There are also many tourist sites and facilities, such as nature reserves,
archeological sites, cure sites such as spas, hotels, guest houses and commercial
beaches.
Text and pictures by: Pinhas Baraq
Based on:
Andrew Sanger Fodor's Exploring Israel, New York, 2000.
Dave Winter, Israel Handbook,Bath UK 2nd Edition.
Risha Kim, Let's Go Israel, Cambridge USA, 2001 Eli Raz,
article in Israel Guide, The Judean Desert and The Jordan Valley,
Jerusalem 1979 (Hebrew). |
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