List of places on land with elevations below sea level

This is a list of places below mean sea level that are on land.

Places in tunnels, mines, basements, dug holes (also with open sky), under water, under ice, or existing temporarily as a result of ebbing of sea tide etc. are not included. Places where seawater and rainwater is pumped away are included. Fully natural places below sea level require a dry climate, otherwise rain would exceed evaporation and fill the area.

All figures are in meters below sea level, arranged by depth, lowest first:

Africa

• Afar Depression
  • Lake Assal, Djibouti, [−153 m (−502 ft)] lowest land in Africa
  • Danakil Depression, Ethiopia, [−125 m (−410 ft)]
• Qattara Depression, Egypt, [−133 m (−436 ft)]
• Sebkha Tah, Western Sahara, in the Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra region [−55 m (−180 ft)]
• Sabkhat Ghuzayyil, Libya [−47 m (−154 ft)]
• Chott Melrhir, Algeria, [−40 m (−131 ft)]
• Shatt al Gharsah, Tunisia, [−17 m (−56 ft)]
• Sebkhet Te-n-Dghamcha, Mauritania, [−5 m (−16 ft)]

Antarctica

• Deep Lake, Vestfold Hills, [−50 m (−164 ft)]

Asia

• Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
  • Dead Sea, Jordan – West Bank – Israel [−423 m (−1,388 ft)], lowest land in Asia and the world 31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°E / 31.500; 35.500
  • Jericho, West Bank [−258 m (−846 ft)], lowest city in the world 31°51′N 35°28′E / 31.85°N 35.46°E / 31.85; 35.46
  • Bet She'an, Israel (between Tiberias and Jericho) [−122 m (−400 ft)] 32°30′N 35°30′E / 32.50°N 35.50°E / 32.50; 35.50
  • Sea of Galilee, Israel [−214 m (−702 ft)] 32°48′N 35°36′E / 32.80°N 35.60°E / 32.80; 35.60
  • Tiberias, Israel [−207 m (−679 ft)] 32°47′48″N 35°32′09″E / 32.7966°N 35.535717°E / 32.7966; 35.535717
• Turfan Depression, China [−154 m (−505 ft)]
• Caspian Basin
  • Caspian Depression, Karagiye, Kazakhstan [−138 m (−453 ft)]
  • Caspian Sea and its shores, Russia – Kazakhstan – Azerbaijan – Iran – Turkmenistan [−28 m (−92 ft)]
• Kuttanad, India [−2 m (−7 ft)]
• Hachirogata, Japan [−4 m (−13 ft)]

Europe

Areas of the Netherlands located below sea level (right) compared to dry land (left).

• Caspian Depression
  • Caspian Sea and its shores, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan [−28 m (−92 ft)]
  • Baku, Azerbaijan [−28 m (−92 ft)], lowest lying national capital in the world
  • Atyrau Airport, Kazakhstan [−22 m (−72 ft)] – lowest international airport
• Netherlands, coastal provinces [(−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)]
  • Zuidplaspolder [−7 m (−23 ft)]
  • Haarlemmermeer [−5 m (−16 ft)]
    • Amsterdam Schiphol Airport [−4 m (−13 ft)]
  • Wieringermeer [−4 m (−13 ft)]
  • Flevoland [−4 m (−13 ft)]
  • Amsterdam [−2 m (−7 ft)]
• Belgium, parts of West Flanders [−3 m (−10 ft)]
• Lammefjord, Denmark [−7 m (−23 ft)]
• The Fens, United Kingdom [−2.75 m (−9 ft)]
• Neuendorf-Sachsenbande, Germany [−4 m (−13 ft)]
• Le Contane, Jolanda di Savoia, Italy [−3.44 m (−11.3 ft)]
• North Slob, County Wexford, Ireland [−3 m (−10 ft)]
• Camargue, France [−2 m (−7 ft)]
• Kristianstad, Sweden [−2 m (−7 ft)]
• Żuławy Wiślane, Poland, Baltic delta of the Vistula River [−2 m (−7 ft)]

North America

Sea level sign (2/3 of the way up the cliff face) above Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, USA

• Death Valley
  • Badwater Basin, California, United States [−85 m (−279 ft)] lowest point in North America
• Salton Sink, United States [−66 m (−217 ft)]
  • Bombay Beach, California, United States [−69 m (−226 ft)]
  • Salton Sea Beach, California, United States [−67 m (−220 ft)]
  • Desert Shores, California, United States [−61 m (−200 ft)]
  • Calipatria, California, United States [−56 m (−184 ft)]
  • Westmorland, California, United States [−48 m (−157 ft)]
  • Niland, California, United States [−43 m (−141 ft)]
  • Salton City, California, United States [−38 m (−125 ft)]
  • Brawley, California, United States [−37 m (−121 ft)]
  • Thermal, California, United States [−37 m (−121 ft)]
  • Coachella, California, United States [−22 m (−72 ft)]
  • Imperial, California, United States [−18 m (−59 ft)]
  • Seeley, California, United States [−13 m (−43 ft)]
  • El Centro, California, United States [−12 m (−39 ft)]
  • Indio, California, United States [−6 m (−20 ft)]
  • Heber, California, United States [−5 m (−16 ft)]
  • Holtville, California, United States [−3 m (−10 ft)]
• New Orleans, Louisiana, United States [−2 m (−7 ft)]
• Laguna Salada, Baja California, Mexico [−10 m (−33 ft)]
• Lake Enriquillo, Dominican Republic [−46 m (−151 ft)], lowest place on an island country.

Oceania

• Lake Eyre, Australia, −16 m (−52 ft), lowest land in Australia
• Lake Frome, Australia, −6 m (−20 ft)
• Lake Blanche, Australia, ?
• Taieri Plain, New Zealand, −2 m (−7 ft)

South America

• Laguna del Carbón, Argentina [−105 m (−344 ft)] lowest land in the Americas
• Bajo del Gualicho, Río Negro province, Argentina [−72 m (−236 ft)]
• Salina Grande and Salina Chica, Valdés Peninsula, Chubut Province, Argentina [−42 m (−138 ft)]
• Laguna La Niña, Sechura Desert, Piura Region, Peru [−34 m (−112 ft)]
• Georgetown, Guyana [−2 m (−7 ft)]

Historic and ice-covered areas

Deeper and larger than any of the trenches in the list above is the Bentley Subglacial Trench in Antarctica, at a depth of 2,540 m (8,330 ft). It is subglacial, meaning that it is permanently covered by the largest ice cap in the world. Therefore, it is not included in any list on the page. If the ice melted it would be covered by sea.

The biggest dry land area below sea level that has been known to exist in the geological past, as measured by continuous volume of atmospheric air below sea level, was the dry bed of the Mediterranean Sea in the late Miocene period during the Messinian salinity crisis.

See also

• Extreme points of Earth
• List of countries by lowest point
• List of submarine topographical features

External links

• "Adjustable Sealevel Map". flood.firetree.net. 
• "Land Below Sea Level". geology.com.