The Dead Sea and the land that’s sinking away

The Dead Sea, the lowest place on Earth and one of Israel’s most famous natural landmarks, sits some 1,300 feet below sea level. Stunning to behold, it stretches from the Judean Desert in the north to the Arava Desert in the south, lying between Israel and Jordan and surrounded by hills and mountains. Called the Dead Sea because it’s so salty no plants or living creatures could survive in its waters, it’s one of the wonders of Hashem’s world. It’s not actually a sea, though, despite its name. It’s a super salty lake; in Hebrew it’s called Yam Hamelach, or the Salt Sea.

Appearing as a sparkling turquoise oasis in the middle of the desert, it has long attracted flocks of visitors. Not only is it beautiful to see, but its high salt content is also a big attraction. Salt crystals and other salt formations decorate the landscape, giving it a kind of otherworldly, magical appearance. And because there’s so much salt in the water, the water is very dense (much denser than freshwater). Therefore, things that are less dense than the salty water will float — including people. Because our bodies are less dense than the water in the Dead Sea, we can almost “sit” on the water, which is just super cool. The salt and other minerals of the Dead Sea are also known for their healing properties, especially for skin problems.

Throughout history, people have come to soak in the Dead Sea’s healing waters, to see its beauty, and to bob on its surface. But the region surrounding it is starting to look a bit like dried-out Swiss cheese: pockmarked with holes — sinkholes, to be exact. (Sinkholes are big holes that open up in the ground when part of the Earth’s surface collapses.

This generally happens when whatever’s underground, like limestone, gypsum, sand, clay or the like, dissolves or shifts when a lot of water moves, shifts, or flows into or out of one concentrated area.)

But most of us can’t even see them.

In the areas where these sinkholes are found, the ground isn’t safe to walk on and the land has been blocked off to visitors, marked by warning signs: “No Entry” and “Danger: Open Pits.” Some of the sinkholes, which look like craters on the moon’s surface, can now only be reached by kayakers or boaters, because they quickly filled with water as soon as they opened, or they are located directly off the Dead Sea’s banks, while others can be viewed by gliders or drones. Some sinkholes are as much as 60 feet deep, others just 30 feet. They’re otherworldly and beautiful. They’re also dangerous and disastrous. And they aren’t disappearing anytime soon. In fact, they’re multiplying.