The Dead Sea is the hypersaline lake between Jordan and Israel.
It occupies a landlocked basin in the Jordan Rift Valley, with Jordan on its eastern shore and Israel and the West Bank to the west. The lake has no outlet, so water leaves mainly through evaporation while dissolved minerals remain behind. That process produces exceptionally salty water.
Its salinity has been measured at roughly 34%, many times saltier than ordinary seawater. The dense water makes people unusually buoyant, though swimming still requires care because getting highly saline water in the eyes or mouth can be painful. The name “Dead Sea” refers to the inability of fish and most aquatic plants to survive there; microscopic organisms can exist in some conditions.
The Red Sea is also notably salty, but it is a different, open body of water. The Sea of Galilee lies north of the Dead Sea and is a freshwater lake. Falling water levels have also changed the Dead Sea’s shoreline and landscape in recent decades.