Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
A more cost-effective method is desalination. Four desalination facilities, among the world's
largest, along the Mediterranean are providing about 40 percent of Israel's needed drinking
water, a proportion that is expected to rise to about half with the opening of two more.
The Dead Sea
At 1,365 feet below sea level (416 meters), the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the Earth's sur-
face. It is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) long and 2 to 12 miles (3 to 19 kilometers) wide. The
Hebrew name for this body of water is Yam HaMelach (Salt Sea), since it is about 30 percent
salt, ten times saltier than ocean water. The high percentage of salt gives it extra buoyancy —
people fl oat easily —but also makes it impossible for any type of life (other than bacteria) to
exist there. Several spas are located near the Dead Sea, whose mineral-rich water and mud have
long been thought to have healing powers.
Since the Dead Sea has no outlet to any other body of water, much of its liquid is lost by
evaporation in the hot climate, a major cause of the increased salt content. But the sea's water
level is sinking faster than evaporation accounts for. Over the past fi fty years its surface area
has shrunk by one-third, and its depth has dropped approximately 82 feet (25 meters). Israel,
Jordan, and Syria have all diverted water from the Jordan River in recent years for agricultural
and industrial use, reducing the amount fl owing into the Dead Sea. Currently, the Dead Sea is
dropping by around 3 feet (1 meter) of water per year.
The Dead Sea Works and various Jordanian companies use the sea's natural minerals to
make table salt, fertilizers, cosmetics, and medicinal products. They harvest phosphates and
minerals by creating evaporation pools at the cost of the sea's water supply, further contribut-
ing to the reduction of the water level. Efforts have barely begun to avoid ecological damage.
NATURAL RESOURCES AND ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Israel is a country of limited commercially viable natural resources and no heavy industry. The
main mineral resource is Dead Sea salt, which yields magnesium, salt, calcium citrate, potash,
phosphates, and bromine. These are extracted in evaporation pools and exported by rail to the
port of Eilat. Other usable items include construction materials, such as sand, marble, plaster,
clay for ceramics, and glass. Quartz deposits from the southern Negev are used for the glass.
At one time, the Timna mines near Eilat, exploited since the time of the pharaohs, produced
copper, but they were closed in 1983.
Although Israel has always been short on natural resources, natural gas has recently been
found off the coast near Ashdod and Haifa. In 2010 a gas fi eld estimated to be as large as 16 tril-
lion cubic feet (4.5 trillion cubic meters) was discovered near the northern coast. This amount
may be small in global terms, but the income could dramatically boost Israel's economy, espe-
cially if it becomes a natural gas exporter.
Israel is also one of the world's leading pioneers in solar and alternative energy technolo-
gies. Eighty-fi ve percent of households use solar power for water heating — a system largely
developed in Israel— and solar power supplies about 4 percent of the country's overall en-
ergy needs. The potential for generating solar power in the Negev is particularly promising.
