Module 8 ( 2.What caused the Dead Sea to form? What country (counrties) does the Dead Sea reside in? ) :

What caused the Dead Sea to form

In this part of the world there is a rift forming where two crustal plates are spreading apart. The East Rift Valley runs through most of Africa, but it starts north of the Dead Sea and runs south along the eastern side of the continent. The Sea is located right along the Rift Valley where the earth's crust is being stretched thin. To get an idea of how this "crustal spreading" thing works, take a bar of taffy, or taffy-like candy and try to pull it apartYou'll see where the candy starts to come apart it gets really thin just before it breaks. That's what is happening to the earth's crust in the Rift Valley. Where the earth's crust gets thin that part of the surface sinks downward. Look at the picture at left to see how the rift forms, sinking downward where the crust is stretched thin. But The Dead Sea is still sinking lower, even today. Scientists figure that the Dead Sea lowers by as much as 13 inches per year. On a geologic time scale that's incredibly fast!

Countries which reside Dead sea

It runs between the East anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Drift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.