The Dead Sea, located in the Jordan Rift Valley between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories, is recognized as the lowest point on the Earth’s land surface. Its surface is approximately 439.78 meters below sea level. This is a salty lake and not a sea. Its high salinity, which is more than 34%, makes it so dense that people can swim in it without any effort.

The most striking feature of the Dead Sea is its extreme salt concentration. Let us tell you that it is about 10 times saltier than normal sea water. This is because water comes in through the Jordan River but cannot go out. Instead it evaporates and leaves behind minerals and salts.

Let us tell you that the Dead Sea is shrinking at an alarming rate. Its water level is decreasing by about 1 meter every year, mainly due to the diversion of water from the Jordan River and human activities.

Just as the Dead Sea is the lowest point on land, Challenger Deep, situated at the southern end of the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean, is recognized as the lowest point on the planet. It is approximately 10935 meters below sea level. Let us tell you that this ditch is deeper than the height of Mount Everest.

The extreme depth of Challenger Deep is caused by a tectonic phenomenon called subduction. In this, one tectonic plate slides under the other. In this situation, the Pacific Plate is being pushed under the Mariana Plate, due to which a deep trench is being formed.

The environment of Challenger Deep is different from any other place on Earth. The water pressure about 12 meters below the surface is 1000 times more than the pressure at sea level. That means approximately 15750 pounds per square inch. The temperature here remains around 1-4 degrees Celsius and sunlight never reaches here.