干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

The shrinkage of the Lisan Lake (LL) to form the recent Dead Sea (DS) was mainly a result of the reduction of the catchment area from around 157,000 km(2) during Late Pleistocene to 43,000 km(2) presently. The reduction in the catchment area resulted from the eruption and spread of the basalt flows of Jabal Arab-Druz (JAD), which together with the resulting deposition of thick rock debris and gravels occupied the drainage system. The filling of the pre-basalt drainage system, which used to feed the Dead Sea, with basalts and alluvial sediments blocked the inflows from reaching the Dead Sea. Local base levels along the basalt flow boarders such as Azraq Oasis, Sirhan Basin and Damascus Oasis, and numerous pools and mud flats were created.