Britannica Sources used in this answer

Why did the southern basin of the Dead Sea become evaporation pools?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

White salt deposits cover rocks along the shore of the Dead Sea near Masada, Israel, with green water and dramatic cloudy sky in the background. — Dead Sea Salt deposits at the Dead Sea near Masada, Israel.

The southern basin of the Dead Sea was transformed into a series of large evaporation pools primarily to facilitate the industrial extraction of minerals, such as potash, magnesium, and bromine.31

This development occurred as the lake's water level dropped significantly in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, causing the northern and southern basins to become separated by a strip of dry land. Because the southern basin is naturally shallow—averaging less than 10 feet (3 meters) in depth—it was effectively subdivided into these industrial pools. Today, water is supplied to these evaporation pans via artificial canals from the northern basin. Once the water undergoes solar evaporation, the remaining residue is refined to produce various chemical products, making the site a critical source of fertilizer for Asia and Africa.231