The Dead Sea sits about 430 m below sea level - the lowest land on Earth. Toggle the translucent sea-level plane to see how deep the basin really lies, and the salt crust that rings its shrinking shoreline.
Published figures: surface about 430 m below sea level; salinity about 34% (roughly 9-10x ocean water); density about 1.24 kg/L, so swimmers float without effort; maximum depth about 300 m; the level drops about 1 m per year.
Drag to orbit and scroll or pinch to zoom. Everything renders on your device with WebGL.
Dead Sea 3D Explorer
This browser explorer shows the Dead Sea basin in cross-section: the hypersaline lake about 430 m below sea level, the salt terraces on its shore, and a translucent plane marking sea level so the depth of the depression is visible at a glance.
The Dead Sea is a terminal lake between Jordan and Israel / the West Bank: the Jordan River flows in and nothing flows out, so evaporation concentrates the salt to about 34% - roughly nine to ten times typical ocean water. The brine is so dense (about 1.24 kg/L) that swimmers float without effort, and the surface keeps dropping about a metre per year as inflow shrinks.
- Toggle the sea-level plane to compare the lake surface with 0 m elevation
- Toggle the salt crust to see the shoreline terraces
- Read elevation, salinity, density, and depth figures in the panel
- Drag to orbit, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Runs fully in the browser with the vendored three.js engine - no account, no upload
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Surface elevation | about 430 m below sea level - the lowest land elevation on Earth |
| Salinity | about 34%, roughly 9-10x typical ocean water |
| Water density | about 1.24 kg/L - people float without swimming |
| Maximum depth | about 300 m - the deepest hypersaline lake on Earth |
| Length | about 50 km along the Jordan Rift Valley |
| Water balance | terminal lake - Jordan River in, no outlet; level drops about 1 m per year |
For the opposite extreme - the highest point on Earth - open the Mount Everest 3D Explorer, or walk the rock layers of the Grand Canyon 3D Explorer.
Everything renders on your device with WebGL. The 3D engine loads once (about 0.7 MB) and is cached.
This is an educational approximation - the basin profile, terraces, and vertical scale are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Dead Sea the lowest place on Earth?
Its shoreline sits about 430 m below sea level in the Jordan Rift Valley - the lowest land elevation on the planet, and it keeps dropping about a metre per year as inflow shrinks.
Why do people float in the Dead Sea?
Salinity is about 34% - roughly 9-10 times ocean water - which makes the brine about 1.24 kg/L, denser than the human body, so you float without swimming.
Is the Dead Sea actually a sea?
No - it is a terminal lake. The Jordan River flows in and there is no outlet, so water leaves only by evaporation, concentrating the salt.
How deep is the Dead Sea?
About 300 m at its deepest point, which makes it the deepest hypersaline lake on Earth.
Which countries border the Dead Sea?
Jordan on the east shore, and Israel and the West Bank on the west shore.
Is this a scientific terrain model?
No. It is an educational explorer using published figures - the basin profile, salt terraces, and vertical scale are schematic teaching cues, not survey data.