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The Dead Sea is almost ten times saltier than the ocean

By The Salt AlmanacPublished November 8, 2026

Satellite image of the Dead Sea, with the shrunken southern basin divided into evaporation ponds
The Dead Sea from the Landsat 8 satellite, July 2019. The squares in the south are evaporation ponds where salts and minerals are harvested.Landsat 8 (NASA/USGS). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons · Image source

At 34.2% salt (measured in 2011), the Dead Sea is about 9.6 times as salty as seawater, so dense that swimmers simply float. Its shores, around 440 metres below sea level, are the lowest dry land on Earth, and the lake is shrinking fast: from 1,050 km² in 1930 to about 605 km² today.

Read the full story: Salinity

More salt facts

English towns ending in “-wich” were often salt townsOne of the world's biggest salt mines lies under Lake HuronPolish miners carved a chapel, chandeliers and all, out of saltColombia has a cathedral 200 metres underground, inside a salt mine

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The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). The dead sea is almost ten times saltier than the ocean. https://saltalmanac.com/did-you-know/dead-sea-saltier

Original sources

  1. Wikipedia. Dead Sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea