Once one of the cradles of humanity — Jericho, one of the oldest human settlements sits near its northern shore — today the Dead Sea has become a prime tourist attraction and a source of revenue for Jordanian industry. The Dead Sea is a liquid enclave caught between the mountains of Israel and Jordan. At about 400m below sea level it is the lowest point on earth. “A million years ago, a major earthquake causing the Syrian-African Rift created the Dead Sea, which was deprived of its natural outflow to the sea,” said Dr. Ussama Qutaishat from Jordan’s Universal Labs. It is fed by freshwater from the Jordan River as well as by small springs and streams. As the Dead Sea water evaporates, salts accumulate in the lake and in its sediments, a natural process resulting in high salt concentration estimated at 33%, over 10 times higher than the Mediterranean.
