As we wrote earlier today about the floating city of Venice, it seemed quite appropriate to then write about floating in the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea is a hypersaline lake, i.e. high in salt content, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world and can be found between the West Bank, Jorden and Israel.  Each year it attracts thousands of visitors, partly because the waters and mud are believed to be medicinal and have therapeutic properties.  Many people cover themselves in the mud to benefit from the minerals contained therein.

A must-do activity for tourists is to try to sink in the lake’s water, however, the water is thicker than the human body and you cannot help but float, it is a strange feeling indeed!

The Dead Sea takes its name because fish cannot live in it due to the high salt content, however, that doesn’t stop hundreds of bird species from inhabiting the area.  The surrounding mountains are not short of wildlife either, with jackals, foxes, camels and even leopards aplenty.

There is no outlet to the Dead Sea and its only source of water is the River Jorden.  However, the area has 330 days of sunshine each year ranging from 30 - 40° C with only a few rainy days in winter contributing only around 4 inches of water each year.  In addition, the flow of the River Jordan is reducing as the Dead Sea is evaporating and so the area of the lake is decreasing.  Indeed, some of the waters at the southern end of the lake have become salt flats already, so floating in the Dead Sea may no longer be an option in years to come.