The Dead Sea is perhaps one of the best water sources on earth. This high saline lake is located in a depression that is part of the Jordan Rift Valley. Its lake coastline is 426 meters below-median sea level, making it the lowest point on Earth (as of June 2012). It is bordered by Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian-controlled West Bank. With no outlet, That Seawater evaporates (about 8 million gallons of water annually), saving salt. The average salt content of this Sea is approximately 28%.
Around 1976, sea levels dropped below the eastern and western peaks, causing the Dead Sea to split into the deep north basin and the shallow southern basin. Since then, sea levels in the North Basin have continued to fall, and by this time the South Basin would have dried up had it not been for the water extracted from the North Basin by the chemical extraction industry. Interestingly, water levels in the South Basin have been rising over the past few years. This is due to the deposition of commercially unattractive salts at the bottom of the basin, leading to rising water levels.
There are many plants and animals in the surrounding mountains, wetlands, swamps, and temporary rivers. Among them are leopards, antelope species Steinbok, and griffon vultures. The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea Basin are important migration points for black and white storks and many other bird species during their migration from Eastern Europe and the Middle East to Africa.
The landscape here is characterized by a group of rocks. However, subtropical vegetation, including bananas, dates, and grapes, is found in the Ain nuts, a wetland on the west coast of the Dead Sea. Many bird species are endemic to the area, including the Fan-tailed Crow (Corvus Epidaurus), the Brown-necked Crow (Corvus rupicolous), the Dead Sea-Bird (Mobius).
The water level in the Dead Sea is plummeting. In 1970, the water level was 389 meters below normal sea level, and in 2012 it was 426 meters. During the last three decades of the twentieth century, the Dead Sea lost one-third of its surface area. Also, its water level drops by about 1.1 meters every year.
The main reason for the drop in sea level in the Dead Sea is the decrease in freshwater flow into the lake, which dropped from approximately 1,250 million cubic meters in 1950 to approximately 260 million cubic meters in 2010. The primary source of water was the Lower Jordan River. More than 96% of the 1.3 billion cubic meters of river’s natural flow is diverted by neighboring countries for agricultural and domestic use. There is very little water left in the Dead Sea. In addition, diversion and solar evaporation by the mineral extraction companies in the southern basin of the lake have contributed to the lowering of the water level here.
In addition to the rapid decline in lake water levels, domestic and industrial effluents continue to flow into the Dead Sea, damaging the lakes as well as the unique ecosystem of the area. In 2006, the GNF declared the Dead Sea “Endangered Lake of the Year” to raise awareness of its critical condition.
