Which lake is the lowest point on Earth's surface?

The Dead Sea is the lake at the lowest point on Earth’s land surface. Its water surface lies hundreds of meters below mean sea level in the Jordan Rift Valley.

The Dead Sea is a landlocked, hypersaline lake bordered by Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank. Its main inflow is the Jordan River, but it has no natural outflow, so evaporation leaves dissolved minerals behind and makes the water exceptionally salty. That high density helps swimmers float.

The lake has been shrinking because water is diverted from the Jordan River and because the region is arid. Its level changes over time, so exact elevation figures are time-sensitive. The phrase “lowest point on Earth” can cause confusion: it refers here to the lowest exposed land and lake surface, not the deepest point in the oceans.