The Dead Sea is the lowest lake on Earth, with its surface roughly 430 metres below sea level.
It is a hypersaline lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. The Jordan River is its main inflowing river, but the lake has no natural outlet. Water leaves primarily through evaporation, concentrating dissolved minerals and producing salinity far higher than that of ordinary seawater.
The Dead Sea’s level has fallen substantially in modern times because inflowing water is diverted for agriculture and domestic use, while evaporation continues. Sinkholes have also developed along parts of the receding shoreline.
Its name does not mean that the lake contains no life at all: microscopic organisms such as certain archaea and algae can survive under suitable conditions. The lake is also historically associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls, found in nearby caves at Qumran.