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Oceans and Sea Life · entry 51 of 52
The Dead Sea is so salty that swimmers float easily on its surface.
The longer version
Evaporation removes water but leaves dissolved solids behind, so any closed basin with no outflow grows steadily more concentrated. Inflow carries traces of minerals from surrounding rock, and over immense spans those residues accumulate because nothing drains outward.
Heavier water pushes bodies upward strongly, making it almost impossible to sink. Very high solute content excludes most plants, fish and larvae, so the ecosystem stays sparse, with only specialised microbes and mineral-tolerant species present. Composition also differs from typical seawater, and salts crystallise into crusts along the retreating shoreline. Hot springs and shifting shorelines stir the water, but nothing drains it away.
Where this entry sits
Oceans and Sea Life looks at the salt water that covers most of the planet, from crashing waves and tides to the darkest deep-sea trenches. Expect notes on coral, fish, whales, sharks, jellyfish, shells, and the strange creatures that live far below the surface. The full list sits on the Oceans and Sea Life page, where every entry is listed in order.
More From Oceans and Sea Life
Eight more entriesSalt water freezes at a lower temperature than fresh water, so polar seas stay liquid longer.
Read 1Salt in the sea comes mostly from minerals washed off rocks by rain and carried down rivers.
Read 2Tides rise and fall mainly because the Moon's gravity pulls on Earth's oceans as the planet rotates.
Read 3Waves are moving energy rather than moving water, since the water itself mostly circles in place.
Read 4Coral reefs are built by tiny animals that leave behind hard skeletons of calcium carbonate.
Read 5Coral turns pale when the colourful algae living inside its tissues are expelled during warm spells.
Read 6Whales are mammals, so they breathe air at the surface and nurse their young with milk.
Read 7Blue whales are the largest animals known to have lived, bigger than any dinosaur yet found.
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