Can you imagine yourself standing below the sea level without actually getting wet? There are more than 30 Places Below Sea Level on earth.
I know it is difficult to visualize a place that is below sea level. It is especially so for those who are living in coastal cities and towns. I hail from such a place and I think it is weird and rather eerie to imagine a place on the earth below the level of the sea.
For most of us, a Places Below Sea Level are the sea bed-right?
7 Beautiful Places Below Sea Level in the world
Do you wish to know at least 7 places in the world that are located below sea level?
Fine, let us go to such lowest elevation in the world one by one.
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Places Below Sea Level: Dead Sea, Asia
The image you saw at the start of this blog post is of Dead Sea.
I mentioned Asia as the location of the Dead Sea because the Dead Sea is located amidst Jordan, West Bank, and Israel.
However, I can point out to its nearest city the “City of Jericho”. The distance between the two points is 33.6 km.
The Dead Sea carries another name “Sea of Death”.
The Dead Sea is not actually a sea but only a lake (salt lake) that is too large for us to see its borders. Its length is 50 km and the width is around 14.50 km.
The Dead Sea’s water is supersaturated with salt and it is called extremely alkaline.
Do you know how many feet below the sea level the Dead Sea is located?
Hole your breadth, folks! It is 1400 feet below the seashore.
When you stand at the beach of Dead Sea, you won’t feel you are standing at the lowest elevation in the world. Nonetheless, you will feel heady when you stand at the edge of the Dead Sea that translates into 1400 feet below its nearest sea Mediterranean.
Warning:
If you ever go to see the Dead Sea, stay away from its acute saltwater. It is harmful to your body.
Trivia: Do you know the source of the Dead Sea? It’s the Jordan River that feeds the Dead Sea.
Nothing survives in the Dead Sea except a few bacteria. So, there is literally no flora and fauna in and around the Dead Sea. There are no other places of tourist interest except the Dead Sea itself, the lowest elevation in the world below the sea level.
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Places Below Sea Level: Danakil Depression, Ethiopia
The famous Danakil Depression is located approximately 400 feet below sea level. It is in Ethiopia and the entire depression is one vast wilderness that receives negligible rain a year.
However, tourists dare to visit the Danakil Depression just to test their endurance level.
There are a couple of tour organizers that take tourists to Danakil Depression in a van. I happen to see a video of it.
The Danakil Depression sizzles. It is one of the hottest places on earth.
The houses of the natives of the Danakil Depression look weird. I wonder what they eat!
In order to visit this below-sea-level place in Africa, you have to reach the Afar Triangle’s northern side in Ethiopia.
The cause of the Danakil Depression is due to the movement of tectonic plates that resulted in Asia pulling away from Africa.
The Danakil Depression’s length measures approximately 200 km and the width stands at 50 km.
When you have reached its far end, you will be in Eritrea, another African country bordering Ethiopia.
That’s an image of a hot spring called “Dallol Sulphur Springs”, somewhere in the middle of the Danakil Depression.
The presence of a large hot spring in the Danakil Depression means there are volcanoes near-by. In fact there two volcanoes namely:
- Mount Ayalu
- Erta Ale
What a terrific sight of watching the piping hot water fountain on top of a volcano!
I remind you, the Danakil Depression is one large desert and the living conditions suit only the permanent residents and some dangerous snakes. I read if you are stung by a viper snake there, you have only 6 minutes to live!
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Places Below Sea Level: Death Valley, U.S.
The Death Valley, another below-sea-location in the world is located in California, the United States. The Pacific Ocean’s shore is located 280 feet above the Death Valley.
Death Valley is a desert bordering the Mojave Desert and the Great Basin Desert in California’s eastern part.
Death Valley is another very hot place in the world but in spite of that fact, tourists go to feel the extreme conditions of the Death Valley and also see some of the rare wildlife that finds the heatwave favorable to them.
Over the decades, because thousands of people have shown interest in touring the Death Valley, several viewpoints, ranches have come up near waterfalls and mountains.
Here are some of the places to see in Death Valley that sits safely 280 feet below the Pacific Ocean.
- Darwin Falls
- Furnace Creek
- Myers Ranch
- An Oasis
- Badwater Basin
Las Vegas is the closest city to the Death Valley located 180 km away.
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Laguna del Carbon, Argentina
Laguna del Carbon is another salt lake that is located near Argentina’s San Julian port.
Below sea level, it stands at 344 feet.
This salt lake is also an endorheic basin meaning its water has no outlet.
There are no other places of interest near this unique below sea level point in South America.
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Caspian Sea, Place Below Sea Level
The Caspian Sea is not a real sea but a lake that is too large and looks like a sea.
The Caspian Sea is located about 90 feet below sea level.
Caspian Sea’s exact location cannot be attributed to a single nation because it is a large water body that has several countries as its border, that include:
- Russia
- Iran
- Azerbaijan
- Turkmenistan
- Kazakhstan
See the location of Caspian Sea on the Atlas:
Let us see how large is the Caspian Sea.
It comprises an area of a mammoth 371K sq.km!
By length, it measures a little more than 1000 km and by width, it measures 435 km!
Surely, you cannot visualize such an enormous water body-right? It is the world’s largest lake.
The water body, in spite of its huge size, is useless for humans because it is saline.
What is the source of water to the Caspian Sea? Surely, it cannot be rain alone.
Four rivers empty their water into the Caspian Sea. They are:
- Kura River
- Volga River
- Terek River
- Ural River
Being ‘endorheic’, the Caspian Sea retains all the water that flows in.
Interesting facts about the Caspian Sea located 90 feet below sea level.
- The world’s most sought after and expensive caviar extracted from the Caspian Sea.
- The wildlife and the marine creatures of Caspian Sea include:
Caspian Seal-yes, you can spot the seal not in a real sea but in the large lake
The Caspian Tern
The Caspian Gull
Caspian Turtle
Caviar yielding Sturgeon Fish
As wrote above, the world’s most preferred caviar yielding fish species that include the Sturgeon are found in the Caspian Sea. As many as six species of Sturgeon can be spotted in the Caspian Sea. It includes the Russian and Persian Sturgeon.
Other rare fish species that live in the Caspian Sea are:
- Burbot
- Northern Pike
The Caspian Sea is a sub-sea that attracts millions of tourists every year. Since 4 rivers converge here, it is opening up river cruise packages that will enable the passengers to visit unheard of cities and capitals of Central Asia and Russia.
I would be excited to go on a cruise on the Caspian Sea.
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Lake Eyre, Australia
This sub-sea lake is a large one in Australia and the sea is situated 50 feet above the Lake Eyre.
These water bodies that lie below the sea level are called “Inland Sea”. Invariably, the inland seas are endorheic in nature, retaining the water the flows into it all by itself.
In spite of Lake Eyre’s large size (9500 sq.km), it was unseen as late as 1840! Can you believe it?
Just about 8 years ago, the Lake Eyre was renamed as “Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre”.
The avifauna of Lake Eyre:
The Pelicans usually have the knack of finding large water bodies. I wonder why the pelicans remained obscure until 1840. Otherwise, the pelicans would have lead a curious man to the Lake Eyre.
Another beautiful aquatic bird that one can spot having its lunch in Lake Eyre is ‘Banded Stilt’.
The ubiquitous gulls of Australia also spotted flying over Lake Eyre.
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Turfan Depression, China
A depression that must have occurred naturally thousands of years back is due to the earthen plates ‘movements. Such geological phenomenon creates void-a sort of depression in the land. A fine example is the Danakil Depression’.
Turfan Depression in China is located 155 feet below sea level.
Tourists are lured by the colorful image of this sub-sea land area in China and make plans for a short trip.
The Turfan Depression is a very hot place and is located in Western China.
Suriname, a small country in South America lies just 2 feet below sea level.
Which of these 7 Places Below Sea Level is the most attractive? I like the Caspian Sea very much.
