Discover the Lowest Point on Earth: Unveiling the Secrets of Our Planet’s Deepest Land Formations

Did you know that the tallest point on Earth is the top of Mount Everest? It rises over 29,000 feet (8,800 meters) above sea level. But what about the lowest point? That would be the banks of the Dead Sea, located in the Middle East. These banks sit around 1,300 feet (430 meters) below sea level, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

While the Dead Sea is the lowest point on dry land, it isn’t the deepest spot on Earth. That title goes to the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, reaching about 35,876 feet (10,935 meters) underwater.

The levels of the Dead Sea can change daily due to evaporation. On extremely hot summer days, the water can drop by as much as 1 inch (2 to 3 centimeters), as noted by NASA.

Despite its name, the Dead Sea is actually a large saltwater lake. It measures 47 miles (76 kilometers) long and can reach widths of 11 miles (18 kilometers). Monks named it the “Dead Sea” because they observed little life thriving in its salinity.

The Dead Sea lies along the Dead Sea Fault, stretching about 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the Red Sea to the Taurus Mountains in Turkey. This fault has been forming for nearly 20 million years, according to a study in Earth and Planetary Science Letters. It marks the boundary between two tectonic plates: the African plate to the west and the Arabian plate to the east. NASA also mentions that the Dead Sea is located in the Great Rift Valley, an area currently splitting the African continent apart.

Marine research scientist Rob Pockalny explains that the Dead Sea fault is a transform fault, similar to California’s San Andreas Fault. Both sides of this fault shift northward, but the eastern side moves about 5 millimeters (0.19 inches) annually—slower than its Californian counterpart, which moves ten times faster.

There are different theories about how the Dead Sea formed. Some researchers once believed it was shaped by a zigzag pattern in the fault, creating “pull-apart basins.” However, this standard notion states such basins become long before they deepen. The Dead Sea, being wider than it is deep, challenges this idea. It has a sediment-filled floor that plunges close to 9.3 miles deep while only being about 6 miles wide.

Marine geophysicist Zvi Ben-Avraham proposes that the Dead Sea is a “drop-down basin.” Around 4 million years ago, a chunk of basalt detached and sank, creating a deeper basin while its other dimensions remained constant. Figuring out which of these theories is correct is tricky, since geological movements occur slowly, and observing them in real-time can be expensive.

Understanding the evolution of the Dead Sea and its surrounding area can provide insights into our planet’s geological processes and climate changes over the millennia.

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