Al-Bahr al-Mayyit and the landscape below sea level
Published on 09/23/2026 at 01:15 | Editorial responsibility: Rafael Müller, Editor-in-Chief AD HOC NEWS
Al-Bahr al-Mayyit is the Arabic name for the Dead Sea, a landlocked salt lake on the frontier between Jordan and the West Bank and Israel. Near Sweimeh, its Jordanian shore lies more than 400 m (1,312 ft) below sea level, placing water, cliffs and desert within one sharply defined landscape.
Al-Bahr al-Mayyit in Jordan’s rift valley
Sweimeh lies on the north-eastern shore, west of Amman, in Jordan’s Balqa Governorate. The lake occupies the Jordan Rift Valley, a long continental depression associated with the Dead Sea Transform, where major geological faults extend through the region.
The water has no outlet to the ocean. The Jordan River enters from the north, while evaporation leaves dissolved minerals concentrated in the lake. The eastern shore belongs to Jordan; the western shore touches Israel and the West Bank.
Salt water, a sunken shore and floating bodies
The name Al-Bahr al-Mayyit translates as “Sea of Death”. The Hebrew name, Yam HaMela?, means “Salt Sea”, while ancient texts used the name Lacus Asphaltites. The lake’s extreme salinity excludes fish and most other forms of visible aquatic life, apart from bacteria.
Dense salt water supports the body at the surface, creating the familiar floating experience associated with the Jordanian shore. Mineral deposits also appear in the surrounding landscape, while salt, gypsum, clay, marl and chalk form part of the geological record beneath the valley.
Cliffs, basins and a changing lake outline
The lake lies between the Judaean hills to the west and the Transjordanian plateaus to the east. The northern basin contains the principal body of natural water, while the southern basin has been divided into evaporation pools.
Al-Lis?n, an Arabic name meaning “The Tongue”, projects from the eastern side of the lake. Mount Sedom rises beside the south-western shore, with steep cliffs made from layered geological materials. These named landforms give the Dead Sea region a visible vocabulary of rock, water and exposed shoreline.
The Dead Sea belongs to a landscape shaped across geological periods. During the Miocene Epoch, between 23 million and 5.3 million years ago, movements involving the Arabian and Eurasian plates contributed to the formation of the valley’s faults and uplifts.
In the Pleistocene Epoch, from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, a much larger inland lake occupied the valley. Sediments including shale, sandstone, rock salt and gypsum accumulated across the basin, leaving a layered record beneath the present shoreline. the Dead Sea’s geology records these long changes.
Visiting Al-Bahr al-Mayyit: what travellers from Western Europe should know
- Sweimeh lies west of Amman on Jordan’s eastern Dead Sea shore. The Dead Sea Highway runs along this part of the valley.
- The shoreline sits more than 400 m (1,312 ft) below sea level. Approaches from Jordan’s highlands descend towards the lake through the rift valley.
- The official language is Arabic and the currency is the Jordanian dinar.
- Al-Bahr al-Mayyit is a salt lake, not a freshwater swimming lake. Salt deposits and mineral-rich water are defining features of the shore.
- Entry requirements depend on your nationality; UK travellers can check the FCDO travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, Irish travellers the Department of Foreign Affairs at ireland.ie.
Searching for Al-Bahr al-Mayyit on social platforms
These links open searches for Al-Bahr al-Mayyit on each platform.Frequently asked questions about Al-Bahr al-Mayyit
Where is Al-Bahr al-Mayyit?
Al-Bahr al-Mayyit is a landlocked salt lake between Jordan, Israel and the West Bank. Sweimeh lies on the Jordanian north-eastern shore, west of Amman.
What can visitors expect at the lake?
The shore combines highly saline water with exposed mineral deposits, valley slopes and named geological features. The dense water supports floating at the surface.
What makes Al-Bahr al-Mayyit distinctive?
Its Jordanian shore near Sweimeh lies more than 400 m (1,312 ft) below sea level. The lake also preserves a geological landscape shaped by faults, sediment and evaporation.
