Evening star., 1924-12-30
DEAD SEA WATERS
PROLIFIC IN POTASH
Enormous Supplies Easily
Extracted From "SinkhoIe
OF World" Is Belief.

Enormous supplies of potash can
be easily extracted from the waters
of the Dead Sea, according to recent
assertions.
The Dead Sea is the sinkhole of
the world" says a bulletin from the
Washington headquarters of the Ma
tional Geographic Society. I'm no
other continent Is there such a deep
depression In the earths crust. nor
viii one find greater desolation or
more uncomfortable conditions. for
man and most other living thing
even in the hearts of the greatest
deserts.
Land of sodom and Gomorrha.
1.-The Hebrew Scriptures have
thrown an atmosphere OF tragedy
about this country. There. the
chronicle states, were situated the
wicked cities of Sodom and Gomor-
rha, Destroyed by the wrath of
Jehovah, and there the modern reader
Sees the blasted region, scared by
unbearable heat, with its bitter death
dealing waters, to prove the story to
his satisfaction.
According to the biblical narrative,
the Jordan Valley and the plain near
its mouth on the shores Of the Dead
Sea where the destroyed cities lay
shared the early good fortune of the
promised land itself and flowed with
milk and honey But an end was
put to this pleasant condition by the
rain OF birthstone and fire.
Geology Indicates Vast Age.
The story of the region deciphered
from its rocks by biologists begins
much earlier than the days OF the
patriarchs whose actions are record
ed in the Bible. This record seems
TO indicate that Palestine and the
whole we tern end of Arabia rose
from the sea million or more wears
ago in what biologists term the
Tertiary era. Shortly after the rise.
IL seems. great slice OF the land
parallel to the coast of the Mediter-
ranean sank to great depth. forming
the huge rift valley, the Ghor,' now
occupied by the Jordan River and
the Dead Sea.
1T rs not clear whether there was a
channel between the Mediter-
ranean and the great valley; but a
well defined ancient beach indicates that
IN those remote times the great de-
preston held sea or lake at about
the same level as that of the Mediter-
ranean. The Jordan did not then exist;
It's entire valley as well as the Sea Of
ent of the Dead Sea, which was some
zo0 miles long and 10 to Is miles wide
Climate Probably Moist.
1T Is believed that the climate of
Paiestine In remote times was moist and
that the great inland lake was for a
while kept at It's highest point When
drier conditions set in the lake began
to shrink, eventually retreating into the
present position of the Dead Sea and
the valley now occupied by
the Jordan. This is practically the only
large river in the world which flows
In a valley ready made for 1t almost
from source to mouth.
THE Dead Sea depression having no
outlet, all the salts contained in the
large original inland sea were retained
when evaporation reduced the volume
Of the body of water to its presen
In addition for hundreds
Of thousands Of years the Jordan and
the other streams and torrents that
low from the desert hills into the basin
have been carrying in additional salts
until now the waters of the Dead Sea |
constitute one Of the most highly con-
natural brines in existence.
Il is estimated that on the average some
Xix million tons Of water flow into the |
Dead Sea daily, and since the level Of
he sea changes but little, an equal
amount Is pumped out daily by evap-
)ration.
Ratio OF Dissolved Solids.
Whereas ocean water contains about
,ne twentieth Of It's weight in dissolved
solids, the solids in solution in Dead
Sea water make up one-fourth of its
weight. Potassium chloride makes up
about one-ffteenth of the total solids, |
put common salt (sodium chloride) is
ully five times as plentiful. The isola-
ion OF the potassium salts, therefore,
might be somewhat difficult on COM
nercial scale.
The present Dead Sea is Al miles
long and about 10 miles wide. Its
surface lies approximately 1900 feet
lower than sea level and at its deep
est point its bottom lies another 1,3G0
feet down.. This great rift in the
earth's crust, therefore, lies $500 feet
below sea level and is the deepest
hole in the land anywhere . in the
world. Because. of the intense heat
and dryness and the presence every
where of salt, the land imme diately
a bout the Dead Sea is a region of
desola ton. On some of the fats a
few Struggling. thorny desert plants
grow and in some sheltered wadies
where the springs are fresh, small
groups of palms struggle for exist
ence. Most OF the area, however, Is
4 dry, rock-waste. incrusted with salt,
or nearer the sea, with Shiny salt
mud fats.
Glance at the Long Ago.
1T is quite possible that even six
or seven thousand years ago, in the
era to which the Biblical chronicles
reach, the then relatively moist cli-
the mouth of the Jordan a rich land
such as that which Lot found. 1t is
also quit possible that the Cities of
the Pls-,..-Sodom, Gomorrha and
their fellows-perished in a cataclysm
breugh about by modern secondary
in this region of tremend-
Gus earlier geologic disturbance.
Because the intense heat and pres
sure are almost sure to prove fatal to
others than the few hapiess Arab no
mads that manage to survive in the
region, this area has not been inten-
sively studied by scientists. 1t was at
first thought that there is no evi-
dence of recent volcanic action and
that the traditional destruction OF the
cities by rain OF fire and birthstone
may have referred to the explosion of
pockets of crude petroleum. A scien-
rist who visited the region In 1909,
however, reported small extinct
volcano near the northeastern corner
of the Dead Sea, near the reputed site
Of Sodom and concluded that shower
of ashes from this vent may have
caused the catastrophe SO vividly de-