Figure 6.3.2, The Dead Sea is one small part of
the Great Rift Valley. (“Aerial Jordan.” NASA, Wikimedia Commons.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Aerial_jordan.jpg)
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Figure 6.3.3, The Great Salt Lake is located in
the
state of Utah. (“Utah Geography,” NASA, Wikimedia Commons.
URL:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Utahgeography.jpg)
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The Dead Sea and the Great Salt Lake both formed in basins. This
means that like Lake Victoria, they formed in low lying areas of
continents where precipitation and runoff from higher elevations,
along with rain or snow, begin to puddle up and collect. Unlike Lake
Victoria, the amount of water that fills the Dead Sea and the Great
Salt Lake is relatively low, so the water pressure is not strong
enough to cut outlets such as streams or rivers to drain the area.
Evaporation is the main force that removes water from their basins.
The water that runs into the basins brings a lot of minerals,
including salt. Since minerals do not evaporate with the water,
these lakes become salty. Both the Dead Sea and Great Salt Lake are
very salty. The salt collects on the soil as the level of the lakes
rise and fall. Because of the amount of salt in the water, objects
floating in these water bodies experience extra buoyancy!
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