A tourist draw for over two millennia, this landlocked salt lake between Israel and Jordan is located at the lowest point on Earth, nearly 1,400 feet below sea level. The Dead Sea’s other unique feature is the remarkably high salinity of its water, which is said to have healthful benefits and makes swimming more like floating. Unfortunately, the future is less than idyllic. Since 1960, the Dead Sea has lost a third of its surface area and continues to shrink about 3.3 feet per year, according to the environmentalist group EcoPeace Middle East.
