Dead Sea: location and characteristics

Sometimes seas are called forms of waters that are not, these lakes being totally closed but in the ancient world they were called seas due to ignorance. One of the lakes with greater relevance of ancient history is the Dead Sea, because of its importance it is religion, and to know it better in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to talk about the Dead Sea location and features.

The Dead Sea is a closed lake of the middle east located at a point between Israel, Palestine and Jordan, and which is located in a depression about 400 meters below sea level. One of the most interesting facts about this lake is its great salinity, being one of the lakes with the highest salt in the world.

His original name, in Hebrew, was that of sea ​​of ​​salt, for its incredible amount of salt. Other names that it received from the Hebrew side according to the Bible were the sea of ​​Arabah and the East Sea and it is that none of the passages of the Bible that name this source of water uses the term of

Dead Sea, although at certain times the word sea ​​of ​​death to refer to the non-existence of aquatic life in its waters.

On the other hand, the Arabs already began to call it the Dead Sea, although they sometimes used the term the Sea of ​​Lot. On the other side were the Greeks, those who called the sea by the name of sea ​​of ​​asphaltite, for its high asphalt content.

Undoubtedly the great importance of the Dead Sea lies in its numerous interventions in biblical texts. Some of the biblical cities such as Sodom, Gomorrah or Segor were close to the shores of the sea, since Although we do not have evidence about it, we do have the sources of the Bible to place more or less its location.

To better know this sea and its great relevance to history, especially in ancient history, we must talk about some of the events that happened in this area and, thus, understand why it is important to know information about this area zone.

The first information we have about the area is the greek period, since they exist Aristotle texts talking about how special its waters were. But he was not the only person interested in the sea, since sources speak of the Nabataeans and The Egyptians have already investigated the waters, the asphalt of the Dead Sea being collected by the two peoples.

Its greatest relevance in ancient times is due to king of Judea Herod, who built dozens of palaces and forts on the shores of the sea, which had become an important base for maritime trade. One of the most important fortresses was that of Masada, being the place where one of the most important events in the city took place. history of the war between the Romans and Judea. With the passage of time the Romans located several of their camps in the areas where Herod had built the fortresses, making Judea one of the many provinces that made up the Roman Empire.

Many were the groups of Jews who were located in the Dead Sea area throughout the centuries, it being common for these sects to be located there due to the great relevance that had the body of water in biblical history, being one of the most relevant places for the Jews.

After the end of the Romans, the importance of the Dead Sea decreased and it is that from then until now it has only served for the search of information regarding the biblical texts and for the extraction of their resources. In the last decades writings have still been found around the sea that speak about biblical events.

To continue with this lesson on the location of the Dead Sea and characteristics we must talk about the main peculiarities that this lake has, since its large amount of salt makes it very special. The main dead sea features are as follows:

• It is about 80 kilometers long and about 16 kilometers wide.
• The area of ​​the Dead Sea is about 810 km2.
• Its main tributaries are the Jordan river and other small dry rivers in the area. Its waters pass into small tributaries or disappear through evaporation.
• His large amount of salt It is due to its closed state, so that all the mineral sources it receives remain there without being able to escape.
• The density of its waters is 1.24 km / l, being the reason that human beings are able to float through its waters without any effort.
• Its composition is totally different from that of the seas, having a large number of elements such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, or bromine. These high amounts made it a great source of mineral wealth for years.
• Its great salinity has made it well known, although some Antarctic lakes and Lake Assal surpass it in this section. Its quasi salinity it is about 249 kg / m³.
• The climate of the sea is warm desert, with very little rain and extremely hot summers, being hot even in areas with water.