The Dead Sea is dying. These beautiful, ominous photos show the impact

Visitors, including Dead Sea researcher Yael Kiro from Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science (second from left), examine salt formations on the shore of the Dead Sea in Israel on Nov. 5. (Ofir Berman for NPR)

DEAD SEA — It is an unparalleled wonder of the world: the lowest exposed spot on Earth, its therapeutic waters are so full of salt that bathers float right to the top. This natural spa is a source of rich minerals used by the ancient Egyptians for mummification, and fabled to be the biblical site of Sodom and Gomorrah.

Gregory, a recent immigrant from Russia, floats in the Dead Sea at a beach connected to an Israeli hotel resort on Nov. 10. The water of the lake is so full of salt that bathers float right to the top. (Ofir Berman for NPR)