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The Dead Sea , Yām Ha-Melaḥ, ``Sea of Salt``, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake in Jordan to the east and in the West Bank and Israel to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 meters (1,385 ft) below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth´s surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hyper saline lake in the world. It is also one of the world´s saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean. This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometers (42 mi) long and 18 kilometers (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
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