Driving southwest from Amman, Jordan for about an hour, you will arrive at a vast area of water: not only are there no ebb and flow, but there are no stormy waves crashing against the shore. Under the illumination of the sun, the water surface is clear and calm. No fish and shrimp can be seen in the water, no birds can be seen in the sky. There are no colorful shells, no green trees, flowers and plants, only the salt and alkali that are as white as snow. Large and small gravel scattered. This is a silent, desolate and indifferent world, a lifeless body of water. That's why people call it the Dead Sea.
However, the Dead Sea, with its harsh natural and geographical environment, has become an important pillar of Jordan's tourism industry today. Many people come here to try the magic of "the Dead Sea cannot drown people". People who have just entered the sea only feel like a thick layer of "grease" is adhered to their backs when they come into contact with the water. Then, whether you are facing the sky with your feet on the sky or meditating cross-legged, no posture will make you sink on the "dead" air surface. Why is the Dead Sea so magical? In fact, the Dead Sea is an inland salt lake located between Israel (Palestine) and Jordan. It is 67 kilometers long, 18 kilometers wide, and covers an area of 810 square kilometers. Because it is located in a desert, evaporation is significantly greater than precipitation. Fresh water molecules gradually evaporate, but salt molecules slowly stay behind. As a result, the salt content of seawater is gradually concentrated and increased. The salt content in surface water is 6 times that of the ocean, and the salt content in deep water is even 10 times that of the ocean. Under such high salt conditions, except for very few microorganisms (such as halophilic bacteria), which can survive due to unique proteins that prevent salt attack, no other organisms can survive. Due to its high salinity, the Dead Sea has a higher proportion of seawater than ocean water and human beings. People naturally will not sink in the water. Some people think that the Dead Sea cannot drown people and that they can play in the water as they please. In fact, even a small drop of seawater entering your eyes would make you feel terrible. If someone accidentally takes a sip, his stomach will turn over and he will vomit continuously; if a person who has just finished shaving enters the sea, he will immediately feel the burning pain on his cheeks.
So, the Dead Sea is just a salt lake inland, why is it called "sea"? Some scholars speculate that the name of the Dead Sea dates back to about 323 BC. At that time, the ancients used to call the water body with large area and salty water quality "sea", and called the fresh water body with small area "lake". Hebrews, led by Moses, passed through the Red Sea on their journey from Egypt eastward to Sinai Peninsula, and had a deep understanding of the "sea", so after seeing the Dead Sea, they naturally called it the "Salt Sea". Later, it was discovered that there was almost no life there, so it was also called the Dead Sea.