2002_11_17; last update: 2003_06_29
Water in the Wilderness
(7)
along the Syrian-African Rift:
Dead Sea
My Salt
Sea Springs since 1999
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See more photos, inserted in my
edition of "Right Use of Will"
The tamarisks are growing like crazy
It's a clear day in early winter and the Jordanian shore with the estuary of
the Arnon river is visible
Arnon's "Color-Sea" and grandma swimming.
The Salt Sea can be very dangerous,
but here the widening circles are the only movement. |
About
the part of the Syrian-African Rift
which in the Bible is called the Salt Sea
"The lowest
The Dead Sea shore is the lowest
dry point in the world; today the level of the Dead Sea is 412
meters below the Mediterranean Sea level.
How was this unique phenomenon
formed?
The Dead Sea is a section of
the great Syrian-African rift valley fault, whose geological
layers formed a deep valley, after the eastern mountain formations
moved northwards.
In all, the eastern mountains
moved about 105 KM northwards, so we can find mountains today
with a particular mineral content in the area of Eilat, and
mountains with the same structure and content in the area of
Petra - about 100 KM further north on the eastern side of this
valley.
Dramatic changes occurred when
new shifts of the mountains took place in recent millennia,
deepening mainly the northern part of the Dead Sea.
6,000 years ago, the Dead Sea
level dropped to 700 meters below the Mediterranean Sea level,
as evidenced from under-water canyons in the Dead Sea.
Changes in conditions were also
studied by bore holes in the area, which show different layers
of sediments.
2,000 - 3,000 years ago, the
level of the Dead Sea was 360 meters below the Mediterranean
Sea level. However, diversion of sweet water from the Jordan
river since 1950, by both Jordan and Israel, has reduced to
less than the half the flow of water from the Jordan river into
the Dead Sea. Today, water evaporation is faster than the water
supply and the sea is gradually shrinking.
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Photos taken by Arnon in
the last hour of Succot 2002_09_28.
It looks as if my son Micha and I were standing on ground,
but no, a few meters off the cliff it's much too deep there!
The way to swim in the Salt Sea is similar to riding a bicycle,
and the upper part of the body will alway be above the water.
Who feels happier at "my" Salt
Sea Springs
- Arnon
- or the tamarisk bushes which grow faster the sweeter the sulphorous
water becomes .
"We are repairing the Sea"
says Arnon and makes a new path, where the sea has receeded and the
water level sunk
-2002_11_17-1.jpg) -2003_03_17.jpg)
The tiny pond in October 2002 and in March 2003
2003_04_23
On the day of the American ultimatum to Iraq,
2003_03_17
I spent 4 hours at my Salt Sea Sulfur Springs
with my grandson/teacher Tomer
Rosenzweig.
Since 2 years I had been wanting to take him,
but since the direct bus-route leads through Palestinian land to Jerusalem
and the road to Jericho and the Northern Palestinian part of the Dead Sea,
seemed to be too dangerous for Tomer's mother, he never came with
me.
From the present perspective, after Tomer's sudden departure to the
USA,
I am grateful, I grabbed what now appears to have been the last chance,
and traveled with Tomer to my Salt Sea Springs the long, roundabout
way
a journey with 3 busses via Beersheva/Arad, that takes 10 hours to & fro.
I am always both, curious and scared,
when I approach my cherished refuge.
This time the change was devastating:
Two thirds of the shore had collapsed,
and with it what Arnon had "repaired".
Part of the springs had disappeared,
a new spring produced dirty bubbles,
but the water from the main spring,
which cascades into the tiny pond
and changes its shape all the time,
had lost almost all traces of sulfur.
I had to make a new path - my shadow designates
it - and Tomer tries to balance on it
Arnon "repairs" the old shore
- in vain, as it turned out, and Tomer delights in the now exposed
mud "cake" of the new.
"The
fall of the Dead Sea level has caused another strange and problematic
phenomenon in the area.
At points where rivers flow into the Dead Sea, (such as Nahal David
and Nahal Arugot in the Ein Gedi area),
some hundreds of meters before the Dead Sea shore,
the water is absorbed by the sandy ground and underground streams
further into the Sea.
Because of the fall in the Dead Sea level, the underground rivers
stream flow faster, and carrying clay sediments:
thus large underground caves have been formed, which sometimes collapse
unexpectedly,
and people have fallen down holes a few meters deep.
This happened to a foreign tourist on the Ein Gedi camping site, who
was walking along the pavement and suddenly fell some meters down.
The camping site is now closed because of this danger.
In the date orchard, one farmer from Kibbutz Ein Gedi fell into a
similar hole and gave the alarm from his cellular phone."
The
saltiest
"Further
South, the Red Sea was also formed by the Syrian-African rift,
but sea water was not able to flow through to the more northerly
part of the fault, because sand and deposits had blocked the valley.
About 3,000,000 years ago, the northern part of the valley was
still connected with the Mediterranean Sea by the valleys of Galilee
and the sea arm thus formed stretched from Lake Tiberias to about
40 KM south of the present Dead Sea shore, with the level at about
180 meters below the Mediterranean Sea.
This sea arm was cut off from the sea about 2,000,000 years ago
by the fall of the sea level, and thus became a lake, with its
only water supply being the sweet water from the sources of Jordan
river in Mount Hermon, from a few other rivers streaming from
both sides of the fault, and floods from mountain rain, bringing
with them sand and deposits. In this way, the sandy Jordan valley
was formed and only the river bed of the Jordan river connected
Lake Tiberias with the Dead Sea.
The Jordan river carried salt with it to its last and lowest point
- the Dead Sea, which has no outlet. The dry climate, led to rapid
evaporation, leaving the salt and minerals in the lake - which
became more salty. In high summer, the evaporation rate can reach
up to 25 millimeters a day. The Dead Sea receive additional mineral
supply from salt and sulphur springs on its shores.
The salinity of the Dead Sea in the upper water layer is about
ten times that of the Mediterranean Sea - about 30%.
The water in the Dead Sea is therefore heavier, which is why people
swimming in the Dead Sea float; they can even read a paper while
lying on their back in the water. This weight of the water mineral-laden
is even more concentrated in the lower water layers on the floor
of the Dead Sea, and has had another geological effect in the
south sector. Here because of the heaviness, sedimentary salt
and other layers have been pushed sidewards and upwards over the
last 20,000 years at a rate of about 3.3 mm a year. This is how
the mountain of Sodom were formed.
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The healthiest
"In
the Dead Sea area various hot springs have been developed as
Spa resorts for treatment of rheumatic and skin problems.
Because of the additional of 400 meters of atmosphere, ultraviolet
radiation is sufficiently filtered out to prevent sunburn, so
tanning in the Dead Sea area is less dangerous, although it
is always advisable to use sunblock and adapt gradually.
People suffering from Psoriasis have found the Dead Sea atmosphere
and swimming in the sea very helpful.
Smearing mineral rich Dead Sea mud on the body, provides a healing
process for the skin, and broadens the capillary veins. It is
known that King Solomon, Queen Cleopatra and Herod the Great
all visited the Dead Sea for these cures.
Living in the Dead Sea area
"The
name of the Dead Sea was given only after the rise of Christianity.
None of the early peoples living there throughout the centuries
used this name. Despite the arid climate, people have lived
in this area for thousands of years and from the Chalcolithic
period onwards (fifth till fourth century B.C.E.) knew how to
exploit the advantages of the area.
In ancient times, the Dead Sea had several names such as "Hayam
Haqadmoni" (the ancient sea), "Yama shel Sedom"
(the Sea of Sodom), "Yam Ha'arava" (the Arava valley
sea) "Hayam Hamsriah" (the stinking sea - because
of the smell of sulphur).
Sodom is mentioned in the Bible as a town where people lived
in such prosperity, that even Lot's wife looked back with regret
and nostalgia. But human occupation along the Dead Sea coast
did not come to an end with the Lord's destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:16-19:29). It was a place for political
refuge for over 2,000 years ago, and refugees included King
David, Herod the Great, the Essenes, and the fighters of the
Bar Kochba revolt. Economic exploitation began as early as the
time of the Nabateans, who sold bitumen to Egyptians for their
embalming business, and this trade continued into the Roman
era.
Remnants
of Jewish communities have been found in Ein Gedi, in Qumran,
and on Mount Massada. The latter was posibly only a place of
refuge for King Herod the Great, later becoming a fortification
in the revolt against the Romans.
In the Ein Gedi area remnants have been found from the Iron
Age (630-582 B.C.E.), the Persian Empire (fifth - fourth century
B.C.E), Hellinistic period, early Roman period, late Roman and
Byzantine periods (second - sixth century C.E) and the Crusader
period.
Today, the Dead Sea is exploited by industry, such as the Dead
Sea Works at Sodom, which extract potassium and some other chemicals
for magnesium, bromide and iodide; there is a cosmetic products
industry at Mitzpe Shalem. There are also many tourist sites
and facilities, such as nature reserves, archeological sites,
cure sites such as spas, hotels, guest houses and commercial
beaches. "
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