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The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea: Therapeutic wonders

Author: Shay

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The Dead Sea is located in the Dead Sea Rift, which is part of a long fissure in the Earth's surface called the Great Rift Valley. The 6000 km (3700 mile) long Great Rift Valley extends from the Taurus Mountains of Turkey to the Zambezi Valley in southern Africa. The Great Rift Valley formed in Miocene times as a result of the Arabian Plate moving northward and then eastward away from the African Plate.

Around three million years ago what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climatic change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named "Lake Sodom", deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (2 miles) thick.

According to geological theory, approximately two million years ago the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a long lake.

The first such prehistoric lake is named "Lake Gomorrah." Lake Gomorrah was a freshwater or brackish lake that extended at least 80 km (50 miles) south of the current southern end of the Dead Sea and 100 km (60 mi) north, well above the present Hula Depression. As the climate turned more arid, Lake Gomorrah shrank and became saltier. The large, saltwater predecessor of the Dead Sea is called "Lake Lisan."

The Dead Sea: Therapeutic wonders

Rich in life-enhancing minerals, the Dead Sea waters and mud have been acclaimed throughout the ages. This unique body of water is situated on the Syrian-African fault, a geological phenomenon that came into being some three million years ago during a great natural upheaval. Many ancient layers of mineral-rich earth were exposed. Salt water springs erupted, forming a valley and a lake 400 meters (1300 feet) below sea level, making it the lowest place on earth.

An evaporation process continuing for thousands of years resulted in increased levels of minerals and salt in the lake, which is known as the Dead Sea.

The composition of the Dead Sea is considered unique, containing the highest levels of magnesium, calcium, silica, sodium, and potassium in comparison to any other body of salt water in the world, including the oceans. Since ancient times, millions of people have come to the region to relax, to enjoy its beauty and to experience the healing, beautifying, and rejuvenating powers of the Dead Sea.

Medical research and multiple studies have proved beyond all doubt the efficacy of these minerals in treating and preventing various diseases such as psoriasis, acne, and rheumatism as well as skin protection and revitalizing effects of minerals on the skin.

As in the past, the Dead Sea continues to attract tens of thousands of visitors annually to its many resorts and treatment spa

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