Dead Sea, Arabic Al-Baḥr Al-Mayyit Hebrew Yam HaMelaẖ ancient Lacus Asphaltites, Landlocked salt lake between Israel and Jordan. Its eastern shore is Jordanian, while the southern half of its western shore is Israeli. The northern half of the western shore is within the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War (1967). The Dead Sea lies between Judaea to the west and the Transjordanian plateaus to the east. The Jordan River flows in from the north. The Dead Sea is the lowest body of water on Earth, measured in the mid-2010s at about 1,410 ft (430 m) below sea level. Its water level was dropping, however, by some 3 ft (1 m) per year, largely because the inflow from the Jordan River had been reduced considerably. When the lake’s surface level was closer to 1,300 ft (400 m) below sea level, the Dead Sea was about 50 mi (80 km) long and up to 11 mi (18 km) wide. As the water level became lower, the lake separated into northern and southern basins, the southern one gradually becoming largely divided into numerous evaporation pans with then exploitation of chemicals from its highly saline waters. The Dead Sea has been associated with biblical history since the time of Abraham, and the remarkable discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls was made near its northwestern shore in the mid-20th century.
