Nevertheless, the young and vigorous Caspian only represents the
first stage in the process of evaporation of an inland sea. It is still
fresh enough to form the abode of fish and mollusks; and the
irrepressible young lady of the present generation is perhaps even aware
that it contains numbers of seals, being in fact the seat of one of the
most important and valuable seal-fisheries in the whole world. It may be
regarded as a typical example of a yet youthful and lively inland sea.
The Dead Sea, on the other hand, is an old and decrepit salt lake in a
very advanced state of evaporation. It lies several feet below the level
of the Mediterranean, just as the Caspian lies several feet below the
level of the Black Sea; and as in both cases the surface must once have
been continuous, it is clear that the water of either sheet must have
dried up to a very considerable extent. But, while the Caspian has
shrunk only to 85 feet below the Black Sea, the Dead Sea has shrunk to
the enormous depth of 1,292 feet below the Mediterranean. Every now and
then, some enterprising De Lesseps or other proposes to dig a canal from
the Mediterranean to the Dead Sea, and so re-establish the old high
level. The effect of this very revolutionary proceeding would be to
flood the entire Jordan Valley, connect the Sea of Galilee with the Dead
Sea, and play the dickens generally with Scripture geography, to the
infinite delight of Sunday school classes.
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