Where is the “Dead Sea” located?

Concept

The Dead Sea is a landlocked hypersaline lake — an endorheic (no-outlet) basin in the Jordan Rift Valley, part of the larger Great Rift system. Its surface sits about 430 m below mean sea level, the lowest exposed land on Earth, and it is fed mainly by the Jordan River from the north.

Application

The lake lies in the Levant. Its eastern shore belongs to Jordan, while its western shore is shared by Israel and the West Bank. So in country terms it sits between Israel and Jordan.

Contrast

• Iraq and Iran sit far to the east, around Mesopotamia and the Persian Gulf — not the Levant.

• Syria and Lebanon lie to the north along the Anti-Lebanon range and the Beqaa Valley; this lake is well south of them.

• Saudi Arabia is on the Arabian Peninsula and does not border this lake at all.

Hence the lake lies along the Israel-Jordan boundary in the Jordan Rift Valley.