Latest update June 17th, 2020 9:45 AM
Dead Sea: Tales of its Name
When you bring up the name Dead Sea certain inevitable imagery comes to mind. For me, the thought of the Dead Sea brings up a littered wasteland where perhaps a great war created a floating legion of corpses which floated aimlessly in the aquatic tomb, creating a signature miasma. Perhaps this is due to one too many pirate movies or history lessons, but the Dead Sea got its name for a reason completely different than you may have guessed.
The Dead Sea is home to some of the saltiest water in the world. Weighing in at a whopping 33% concentration, the Dead Sea is unlike anywhere else in the world. Due to this intense geological feature, the Dead Sea creates a body of water that is not suitable for most wildlife. Therefore, within the Dead Sea exists only minor bacteria and fungi. In fact, local rivers and streams feed into the Dead Sea. The fish and other wildlife that get carried into it simply perish due to the unlivable conditions. Although not quite the imagery I had originally incurred, it still stands that the Dead Sea is named as such due to its inability to support life.
On the flipside of the coin, the salty waters create an intense buoyancy to the visitors or tourists that just so happen to take a dip into the waters. Floating becomes an effortless task and a common practice in the Dead Sea is to have your photo taken while floating atop the water, mindless to any effort involved. In effect, it could create a dead floating corpse image. However, take caution as reports of swimmers trying to dive into the waters show victims that have become capsized and unable to get their heads back above water.
