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The
Dead Sea
The
lowest
spot on
land, the
Dead Sea
depression
sinks 400
meters
(1,300
feet)
below sea
level.
River beds
known in
the region
as wadis
drain into
the small
sea
occasionally
when it
rains, but
it is
principally
fed by the
Jordan
River,
which
flows in
from the
north. The
extremely
dry
climate,
diversion
of
tributaries
for
various
human
uses, and
massive
salt
evaporation
projects
in the
southern
part of
the sea
have led
to
dramatic
drops in
the sea's
level.
Today, the
Lisan
Peninsula
(bottom
center)
forms a
land
bridge
through
the Dead
Sea; the
southern
part of
the basin
is cut off
from the
north, and
it is used
exclusively
for
evaporating
salt and
minerals
from the
water.
The Dead
Sea occurs
in a rift
zone,
where the
Arabian
tectonic
plate
(east
side) is
pulling
northward,
away from
the Africa
tectonic
plate
(west
side).
Highlands
and
plateaus
on either
side of
the rift
end in
escarpments
at the
seashore.
The
greenish
cast of
the
landscape
on the
eastern
side of
the sea
suggests
rainfall
is more
plentiful
there than
on the
West Bank,
which is
an arid
tan.
In Jordan
(east of
the Dead
Sea), the
rift
valley
from the
Sea of
Galilee in
the north
to the
Gulf of
Aqaba in
the south
is called
the Ghor
Zone. The
Ghor Zone
is one of
the
country’s
most
significant
agricultural
regions
because of
the
availability
of
irrigation
water,
reports
the United
Nations
Food and
Agriculture
Organization.
Vegetables,
citrus
fruits and
bananas
are the
most
common
crops. The
irrigated
agricultural
areas show
up as dark
blue
squares
along the
eastern
and
southeastern
shores of
the Dead
Sea in
this
image.
This image
of the
Dead Sea
was taken
by the
Advanced
Spaceborne
Thermal
Emission
and
Reflection
Radiometer
(ASTER) on
NASAs
Terra
satellite
on May 22,
2006. |
