Rising out of the plain at the south end of the Dead Sea Valley is a billion-ton mountain of salt. An eight-mile long, three-mile wide, 742-foot tall (above Dead Sea level) mountain protruding from the basin plain. This is Mt. Sodom. This mountain is composed almost entirely of halite also known as rock salt. Over... Continue Reading →
The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is a vividly recorded event in the early chapters of Genesis. Estimated to have occurred about 4050 years ago (~2050 BC), the Biblical story provides us with a picture of the specific moment of the destruction of these cities, as well as the still-observable Dead Sea region. Interestingly, the... Continue Reading →
Previously we saw that the Jordan Valley was once full of water. Now we ask, has the Dead Sea ever dried up completely? It appears that is has, but when? These are crucial and perplexing questions for believers in a global flood 4350 years ago (aka Noah’s Flood).
Today the Dead Sea has shrunk to modern historical lows of 1400 feet below sea level. The Sea of Galilee is itself 700 feet below sea level. Residents of the Middle East today are concerned with how much more the Dead Sea will shrink. But what about an important geological question: has there ever been... Continue Reading →
When Abraham and Lot looked out over the Valley of Siddim, what did they see? According to Genesis 13, “Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was watered, like the Garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 13:10, NIV) The biblical evidence indicates that in... Continue Reading →
Most people know that the Dead Sea is a very salty place. And they are right, though there’s much more to it. The Dead Sea, for one thing, is a really large, really salty place - 34% salts compared to 3.5% for sea water. It’s 31 miles long, 9 miles wide. More specifically, the Dead... Continue Reading →
Just 50 miles from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea is a deep scar in the face of the Earth. Long known as the Valley of Siddam, the vale of salt, or the Jordan Valley, its most famous feature is the Dead Sea, which sits 1400 feet below the Mediterranean shore. The exceptionally salty... Continue Reading →
Naturalis Historia 