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At 1,358 ft (414 m) below sea level, the Dead Sea has the lowest land-based elevation on Earth. A landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan and Israel, this is one of the region's most popular visitor attractions.
Djibouti's colossal saline Lake Assal is the lowest point on land in Africa. It lies 508 ft (155 m) below sea level at the western end of the Gulf of Tadjoura. One of the country's most visited landmarks, Assal can also claim the title of the third lowest point on Earth.
The lowest point in China and the fourth lowest terrestrial point in the world is marked by a stone slab indicating where the once vast Ayding Lake used to sparkle. Part of the Turpan Depression, the lake's muddy and salty floor is 505 ft (154 m) below sea level.
Egypt's Qattara Depression levels out at 436 ft (133 m) below sea level. With a floor covered with salt pans, sand dunes, and salt marshes, Qattara is the second lowest point in Africa after Lake Assal in Djibouti.
Vpadina Kaundy is the lowest point of the Karagiye Depression, a voluminous karst trench close to the Caspian Sea. Its maximum depth is 433 ft (132 m) below sea level.
The Danakil Depression is one of the most inhospitable regions on Earth. The area is known for its volcanic activity and extreme heat, with daytime temperatures regularly surpassing 122°F (50°C). And at 410 ft (125 m) below sea level, it's also one of the lowest places on the planet.
Laguna del Carbón in Argentina's Santa Cruz Province claims all sorts of extreme records. Besides being the lowest point in the country at 344 ft (105 m) below sea level, Laguna del Carbón is also the lowest point in the Americas and the Western Hemisphere.
Death Valley National Park contains Badwater Basin, at 282 ft (86 m) below sea level the lowest point in North America and the second lowest natural point in the Western Hemisphere.
Vpadina Akchanaya is part of the Akdzhakaya Depression in northern Turkmenistan. A remote and arid region, Vpadina Akchanaya is 265 ft (81 m) below sea level.
The Salton Sea is an expansive saline lake the surface elevation of which is 226 ft (69 m) below sea level, the second lowest point in the US and the continent of North America. The sea is located in California and lies on the San Andreas Fault.
The second lowest place on Earth is the Sea of Galilee. According to the New Testament, this is where Jesus performed many of his miracles. This venerated body of water, actually a freshwater lake, has a surface elevation of 685 ft (209 m) below sea level.
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil is Libya's lowest point, at 154 ft (47 m) below sea level. Thousands of years ago, during the Holocene Wet Phase, Sabkhat Ghuzayyil was a huge lake.
However, the deepest natural location on land, or at least not underwater, is the canyon under Denman Glacier, also in Antarctica. The bedrock here plummets 11,500 ft (3,500 m) below sea level.
Sources: (ScienceDirect) (WorldAtlas) (Geology.com)
See also: Discover 60 extreme points of Earth
The Caspian Sea shoreline in places dips 92 ft (28 m) below sea level. This is the world's largest inland body of water, and it's often described as a lake. It is bounded by Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan.
Sharing the EU honors at a depth of 23 ft (7 m) below sea level is Lammefjorden, in Denmark. Lammefjorden is also a polder, and is farmed for crops including carrots and potatoes.
At 23 ft (7 m) below sea level, Zuidplaspolder, a polder or low-lying tract of land in the Netherlands, shares the title of the lowest point of the European Union.
Lake Enriquillo is the largest lake in both the Dominican Republic and Hispaniola, as well as the entire Caribbean. And with a surface elevation of 151 ft (46 m), it's also the lowest point for an island country in the world.
Lake Eyre in the far north of South Australia contains the lowest natural point in the country, which levels out at 52 ft (16 m) below sea level. Lake Eyre is also known by its Aboriginal name, Kati Thanda.
Taieri Plain on New Zealand's South Island is the lowest point in the country, also at 7ft (2 m) below sea level and also where agriculture is the main economic activity.
The Sechura Depression, also known as the Bayóvar Depression, is a lowland area located in northwestern Peru. It sits in the Sechura Desert and at 112 ft (34 m) is the lowest natural point in the country.
Still in North Africa, Sebkha Tah in southern Morocco levels out at 180 ft (55 m) below sea level. A sabkha is a coastal mudflat or sandflat in which saline minerals accumulate as the result of an especially arid climate.
A huge salt lake that during the summer months completely dries out to become a salt pan, Chott Melrhir in northeastern Algeria is 131 ft (40 m) below sea level—the lowest point in the country.
Shatt al Gharsah is a vast plain of encrusted salt set in Tunisia's Tozeur region near the country's border with Algeria. Shatt al Gharsah is 56 ft (17 m) below sea level at its lowest point.
At 13 ft (4 m) below sea level, Hachirōgata, in Japan's Akita Prefecture, is the lowest natural point in the country. A lake once occupied much of the area, but extensive land reclamation in the 1950s saw its shoreline diminish to a narrow watercourse.
The Kuttanad region in India's Kerala state is 7 ft (2 m) below sea level. It's one of the few places on the subcontinent where farming is carried out across such a low-lying environment.
The lowest point of Ukraine is located near the Kuialnyk Estuary, 16 ft (5 m) below sea level. The estuary is separated from the Black Sea by a peresyp, or bay-mouth sandbar.
The Fens is a region in England characterized by a low-lying system of drainage channels and man-made rivers. Much of the region is 9 ft (3 m) below sea level, the lowest point in the United Kingdom.
The Vistula Fens in northern Poland is the alluvial delta area of the Vistula River, the country's longest river and the ninth longest in Europe. The region encompasses Poland's lowest point, 7 ft (2 m) below sea level.
Assuming ice doesn't count as water, there are two other locations whose vast depths are worthy of an honorable mention. The valley below the Byrd Glacier in Antarctica sits at an impressive 9,121 ft (2,780 m) below sea level.
Known in antiquity as Lake Moeris, this freshwater landmark southwest of Cairo is today called Lake Qarun. Its surface elevation is 141 ft (43 m) below sea level.
Numerous land areas of the Earth sit below average sea level. These locations can number a surface elevation of just a few feet/meters to monumental depressions that form some of the lowest places on the planet. A few of these regions are popular visitor attractions. The majority, however, remain remote and mysterious. But where exactly can you find these low points, and what makes them so special?
Click through this gallery and see how low you can go!
30 unique places located below sea level
How deep do you have to venture to encounter these places?
TRAVEL Geography
Numerous land areas of the Earth sit below average sea level. These locations can number a surface elevation of just a few feet/meters to monumental depressions that form some of the lowest places on the planet. A few of these regions are popular visitor attractions. The majority, however, remain remote and mysterious. But where exactly can you find these low points, and what makes them so special?
Click through this gallery and see how low you can go!