The Dead Sea

After visiting Masada, we went to The Dead Sea., which borders Israel and Jordan.  This was a part of the trip we all had been looking forward to and it was a nice change of pace.  We spent a couple hours there and enjoyed some nice rest and relaxation.  We were able to float and give ourselves a spa treatment by covering ourselves in The Dead Sea mud.  The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth, exactly 417 meters below sea level and has the highest salt content (340 grams per liter of water).  It is called The Dead Sea because no life exists, however, recently, scientists may have found a bacteria and are further researching this possible discovery.  Our tour guide talked about how the amount of water that evaporates outweighs the amount that flows into the water, which means they believe that in approximately thirty years The Dead Sea will no longer exist.  He mentioned that the government is thinking up a plan to prevent this from happening.  

Photos by Dr. James McGrath and Chloe Cooper
Info from http://www.goisrael.com/Tourism_Eng/Tourist%20Information/Discover%20Israel/Geographic%20Regions/Pages/The%20Dead%20Sea%20General%20Info.aspx