Asalamoalikum, and welcome back to Orange Shots.
Palestine, Jordan, and Israel.
All three countries have a body of water near them,
called the Dead Sea.
The interesting part: Why is it called the Dead Sea?
And since this water body is surrounded by all these countries
i.e., all that land surrounding it, why is it then called a sea?
What characteristics make it a sea?
Why is it a "Dead" sea?
And is the dead sea really dying?
Again, why is it called a sea?
Why is its water density so thick that if try you swim in it,
you'll never drown?
Also, can you drown in the Dead Sea?
The mud found around this water body
is used by people, who rub it all over their bodies, why?
What's so different about this mud that sets it apart from
other seas and the mud around them?
These all are really interesting questions.
First, let me tell you an amazing fact.
If we consider the Dead Sea a "sea",
this is the world's lowest ever sea.
The Dead Sea is 400 meters below the earth's surface.
There are plenty of interesting questions surrounding the Dead Sea.
How was it formed?
When the earth was first being formed,
the seawater levels were a lot higher than they are nos.
This area of the Dead Sea was connected to the Mediterranean Sea.
That's where the water flowed in.
As water levels went down, making the earth's surface higher,
the path connecting the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea was broken off.
The seawater it accumulated into the graben created.
And this is how the Dead Sea was formed.
Next question: Why is it so salty?
Unlike other seas that have outlets,
the Dead Sea does have an inlet, but no outlets whatsoever.
The only outlet is evaporation.
Since it's present in the Middle East where it is very hot,
water tends to evaporate quickly.
As water evaporates, it's only the H2O molecules that evaporate,
most of the heavy elements are left behind.
All the chlorides stay behind as water evaporates.
So over centuries,
water kept evaporating leaving all the heavy minerals and chlorides accumulated.
Hence this seawater's density
a lot higher than that of other seas.
It's 1.025 on average and can go up 1.030.
But what's so surprising is
that the Dead Sea's density is approx. 9 times higher.
It's very dense.
Now you must be wondering that if the path connecting the two seas was broken up
and water from the Mediterranean can't make it here
where does the Dead Sea get its water?
Water travelled from the Jordan River,
directly into the sea, and the Dead Sea would constantly get refilled.
Water would evaporate from the Dead Sea
only to be refilled via the Jordan River.
Over the years, however, due to an increase in population,
that water was redirected towards cities,
and the inlet leading to the Dead Sea is now closed.
The sad part is, the Dead Sea's water levels are declining.
In fact, it's believed that it might dry up by 2050
with nothing to remain.
Now I've told you that the
density of this water is 9 times thicker than normal seawater.
An average person's density is usually below 1, or close to it.
An average person can float above regular seawater too
because it's still denser than an average person's density.
And since the water from the Dead Sea is 9 times denser,
it has more upthrust , too.
Due to this upthrust, you don't have to make any effort to float on this water.
All you have to do is lie on your back,
and you'll start floating on the water.
So yes, you can very easily float on this water,
If you haven't learned how to swim yet, you can learn it here.
But there's still a misconception here, that no one can drown in the Dead Sea.
This is false.
It really isn't that you cannot drown in the Dead Sea.
If you try to stand up straight, I can promise you,
you're going to drown for sure.
Because if you do, your density will change,
all the weight will shift to your legs.
I mean, your denisty WON'T change,
but because of your central mass being displaced,
you'll drown in minutes.
So if you keep floating on your back instead of trying to stand up, you'll be safe.
Tourists from all over the world come here to see this water body because
it's called the Dead Sea despite having land round it,
and because of the high salinity levels of the water.
Yet another attraction is
the mud around the sea.
And like I said, the water keeps evaporating
leaving the heavy minerals and elements behind.
Some of the minerals are great for the skin.
Water from the Dead Sea contains Sodium, Magnesium, Phosphorous, Sulpher,
Bitchumen, Zinc, Potassium, Bromine, and Iodine.
When all these minerals accumulate in the mud there, it becomes sticky.
Somewhat like dough.
The dough we knead at home.
And you know how it gets sticky.
That's what the mud there looks like.
They say this mud is really good for your skin.
It has a calming effect on the skin and helps heal it.
At least that's what the mud advocates say.
There's no other way to confirm that,
so I'll just take their word for it.
I'd like to touch on a point again,
it's that: is the Dead Sea really a sea?
It was a "sea" at one point, but it's referred to as a lake now.
But since they've been calling it the Dead Sea for a long time,
and there's also the fact that for locals, it looks like it stretches to long distances,
that's why they prefer to call it the Dead Sea.
That name has constantly been used, and will be used forever.
Another interesting question: Why is it even called Dead Sea?
The people who initially named it could've named it anything else,
so why "Dead Sea".
Again, the answer is simple.
The water is so rich in chlorines, flourides, salts, and minerals
that if living being were to drink it,
humans included, they'd just straight up be drinking poison.
It's dangerous for your body.
Same goes for underwater species,
fish, etc., cannot surive in this water.
Its called that because nothing can survive in there.
It's almost impossible.
And once again, is the Dead Sea really dying?
I've already answered that.
Yes it is dying. It's dying with each passing day.
The water keeps evaporating without being replenished.
And since it's not being replenished,
Jordan and Israel have planned to
dig a canal called "Peace Canal".
And instead of the canal coming from the Mediterranean Sea,
the water will come from the Red Sea.
They'll dig up a canal starting from the Red Sea leading into the Dead Sea
so that it's finally replenished and revived.
For now though, it looks like if they don't take any steps to fix this,
just like certain other water bodies, the Dead Sea may cease to exist.
Then we'd be losing yet another marvel.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's video.
If you did, don't forget to like, share, and subscrive.
In the meantime, if you want to learn about the Italian city of Venice,
about how it was built and how it's gradually sinking,
I've linked a video about that here.
If you want to know why supersonic planes don't exist anymore,
I've linked a video about that here.
Until my next video, take good care of yourselves,
always remember me in your prayers.
With tons of love to my Orange Shots family,
and to-be Orange Shots family.
This is me Zahid Nisar.
You're watching Orange Shots.
And until my next video, ALLAH Hafiz.