Dead Sea

Dead Sea ים המלח (Hebrew) البحر الميت (Arabic)
A view of the sea from the Israeli shore
Location	Israel Jordan Palestine
Coordinates	31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°E / 31.500; 35.500Coordinates: 31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°E / 31.500; 35.500
Lake type	Endorheic Hypersaline
Primary inflows	Jordan River
Primary outflows	None
Catchment area	41,650 km2 (16,080 sq mi)
Basin countries	Israel Jordan Palestine
Max. length	50 km (31 mi) (northern basin only)
Max. width	15 km (9.3 mi)
Surface area	605 km2 (234 sq mi) (2016)
Average depth	199 m (653 ft)
Max. depth	298 m (978 ft) (elevation of deepest point, 728 m BSL [below sea level], minus current surface elevation)
Water volume	114 km3 (27 cu mi)
Shore length1	135 km (84 mi)
Surface elevation	−430.5 m (−1,412 ft) (2016)
References
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם הַמֶּלַח‎  Yam ha-Melah lit. Salt Sea, Arabic: البحر الميت‎‎  Al-Bahr al-Mayyit), is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west. Its surface and shores are 430.5 metres (1,412 ft) below sea level, Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Dead Sea is 304 m (997 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With 34.2% salinity (in 2011), it is 9.6 times as salty as the ocean, and one of the world's saltiest bodies of water. This salinity makes for a harsh environment in which plants and animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 50 kilometres (31 mi) long and 15 kilometres (9 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley and its main tributary is the Jordan River.