The exact amount of the depression will, of course, vary with the rise and fall of the waters at dilTerent seasons. Traces along the shore iirovo that tlic level has varied as much as fifteen feet within the i)ast half century (Hobinson, I'/if/siml t.'enf/rnphi/, p. 190). It is a singular coincidence that the depth and depression of the Dead Sea are very nearly erpial, each about 1300 feet; the elevation of .Jerusalem aiiove the ^Icditerra- iiean is about twice, and above the Dead Sea about three times tliat number (ibid. \>. 19(1).
6. The iriitir nf the J hud Sea is more intensely salt than that of any other sea known. It has also a bitter nauseous tast<', and leaves upon the skin a sliglitly groasv feeling. Yet it is transparent as the water of the 3\Ied- itcrranean, and its color is the same — a delicate green.
Its specific gravity, and consequent buoyancy, is very great. Bathers float easily in an upright position with head and shouklers above the surface. Lynch says that eggs, which would have sunk in the ocean, floated here with only two thirds immersed. This peculiarity was well known to the ancients (Josephus, War, iv, 8, 4; Aristot. Meteor, ii, 3; see also in Keland, p. 241, 249). Of its weight and inertia the American expedition had also practical experience. In the gale in which the party were caught on their first day on the lake, be- tween the mouth of the Jordan and Ain-Feshkhah, " it seemed as if the bows of the boats were encountering the sledge-hammers of the Titans." When, however, "the wind abated, the sea rapidly fell; the water, from its ponderous quality, settling as soon as the agitating cause had ceased to act" (Lynch, Ncn-rative, p. 268). At ordinary times there is nothing remarkable in the action of the surface of the lake. Its waves rise and fall, and surf beats on the shore, just like the ocean, Kor is its color dissimilar to that of the sea. The water has an oily feel, owing possibly to the saponification of the lime and other earthy salts with the perspiration of the skin, and this seems to have led some observers to attribute to it a greasj' look ; but such a look exists in imagination only. It is quite transparent, of an opalescent green tint, and is compared by Lynch (ibid. p. 337) to diluted absinthe. Lynch (p. 296) distinctly contradicts the as- sertion that it has any smell, noxious or not. So do the chemists who have analyzed it. One or two phenom- ena of the surface may be mentioned. Many of the old travellers, and some modern ones (as Osburn, Pal. Past and Present, p. 443, and Churton, Land of the Morning, p. 149), mention that the turbid, yellow stream of the Jordan is distinguishable for a long distance in the lake. Molyneux (p. 129) speaks of a "curious broad strip of white foam which appeared to lie in a straight line nearly north and south throughout the whole length of the sea . . . some milesWest of the mouth of the Jor- dan" (conip. Lynch, Narrative, p. 279, 296). " It seemed to be constantly bubbling and in motion, like a stream that runs rapidly through Stillwater; while nearly over this track during both nights we obser\-ed in the sky a white streak like a cloud extending also north and south, and as far as the eye could reach." Lines of foam on the surface are mefntioned by others, as Robinson {Phys- ical Geography, i, 603), Borrer (Journey, etc., p. 479), Lynch (Narrative, p. 288). From Ain-Jidy a current was observed by Mr. Clowes's party running steadily to the north not far from the shore (comp. Lynch, ibid. p. 291). It is possibly an eddy caused by the influx of the Jordan. Both De Saulcy (Nari-ative, Jan. 8) and Rob- inson (Physical Geography, i, 604) speak of spots and belts of water remaining smooth and calm while the rest of the surface was rippled, and presenting a strong re- semblance to islands (comp. Lynch, Narrative, p. 288; Irby, Travels, June 5). The haze or mist which per- petually broods over the water has already been men- tioned. It is the result of the prodigious evaporation. Lynch continually mentions it. Irby (June 1) saw it in broad transparent columns, like waterspouts, only very much larger. Extraordinary effects of mirage, due to the unequal refraction produced by the heat and moist- ure, are occasionally seen (Lynch, Narrative, p. 320). The remarkable weight of this water is due to the very large quantity of mineral salts which it holds in solu- tion. The details of the various analyses are given in the following tabic, accompanied by that of sea-water for comparison. From that of the United States expe- dition it appears that each gallon of the water, weighing 12:1^ lbs., contains nearly 3| lbs. (3.319) of matter in solu- tion— an immense quantity when we recollect that sea- water, weighing lOi Ujs. per gallon, contains less than ^ lb. Of tiiis 3J lbs. nearly 1 lb. is common salt (chlo- ride of sodium), about 2 lbs. chloride of magnesium, and less than i lb. chloride of calcium (or muriate of lime). The most unusual ingredient is bromide of magnesium, which exists in a trul3- extraordinary quantity. To its
SALT SEA