List of places on land with elevations below sea level

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

Places artificially created such as tunnels, mines, basements, and dug holes, or places under water, 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[]

# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1 Lake Assal Djibouti −153 m (−502 ft) in Afar Depression: lowest land in Africa
2 Qattara Depression Egypt −133 m (−436 ft)
3 Denakil Depression Ethiopia −125 m (−410 ft) in Afar Depression
4 Sebkha Tah Western Sahara −55 m (−180 ft) in the Laâyoune-Boujdour-Sakia El Hamra region
5 Sabkhat Ghuzayyil Libya −47 m (−154 ft)
6 Lake Moeris Egypt −43 m (−141 ft)
7 Chott Melrhir Algeria −40 m (−131 ft)
8 Shatt al Gharsah Tunisia −17 m (−56 ft)
9 Mauritania −5 m (−16 ft)

Antarctica[]

# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1 Byrd Glacier −2,780 m (−9,121 feet) [1]
2 Deep Lake, Vestfold Hills −50 m (−164 ft)
3 canyon under Denman Glacier bedrock is at −3,500 m (−11,500 ft) This is the lowest natural point on land.[2][3]

Asia[]

# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1 Dead Sea Jordan – West Bank – Israel −430 m (−1,411 ft) lowest land in Asia and the world 31°30′N 35°30′E / 31.500°N 35.500°E / 31.500; 35.500 in Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
2 Allenby Bridge Jordan - West Bank −381 m (−1,250 ft) lowest fixed water crossing in the world 31°52′27″N 35°32′27″E / 31.87417°N 35.54083°E / 31.87417; 35.54083 in Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
3 Neot HaKikar Israel −345 m (−1,132 ft) Israeli town just south of the Dead Sea. 30°55′59.15″N 35°22′36.11″E / 30.9330972°N 35.3766972°E / 30.9330972; 35.3766972 in Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
4 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 in Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
5 Sea of Galilee Israel −214 m (−702 ft) 32°48′N 35°36′E / 32.80°N 35.60°E / 32.80; 35.60 Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
6 Tiberias Israel −207 m (−679 ft) 32°47′48″N 35°32′09″E / 32.7966°N 35.535717°E / 32.7966; 35.535717 Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
7 Turfan Depression China −154 m (−505 ft) [4]
8 Caspian Depression, Karagiye Kazakhstan −138 m (−453 ft) Caspian Basin
9 Bet She'an Israel −122 m (−400 ft) 32°30′N 35°30′E / 32.50°N 35.50°E / 32.50; 35.50 (between Tiberias and Jericho) in Jordan valley, Israel – West Bank – Jordan
10 Caspian Sea and its shores Russia – Kazakhstan – Azerbaijan – Iran – Turkmenistan −28 m (−92 ft) Caspian Basin
11 Hachirōgata Japan −4 m (−13 ft)
12 Kuttanad India −2 m (−7 ft)

Europe[]

Areas of the Netherlands located below sea level (right) compared to dry land (left).
# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1= Caspian Sea and its shores Azerbaijan, Russia, and Kazakhstan −28 m (−92 ft) Caspian Depression
1= Baku Azerbaijan −28 m (−92 ft) lowest lying national capital in the world, Caspian Depression
3 Atyrau Airport Kazakhstan −22 m (−72 ft) lowest international airport, Caspian Depression
4= Lammefjord Denmark −7 m (−23 ft)
4= Zuidplaspolder Netherlands −7 m (−23 ft) Netherlands coastal provinces (−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)
6 Haarlemmermeer Netherlands −5 m (−16 ft) Netherlands coastal provinces (−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)
7= Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Netherlands −4 m (−13 ft) Netherlands coastal provinces (−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)
7= Wieringermeer Netherlands −4 m (−13 ft) Netherlands coastal provinces (−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)
7= Flevoland Netherlands −4 m (−13 ft) Netherlands coastal provinces (−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)
7= Neuendorf-Sachsenbande Germany −4 m (−13 ft)
11 Le Contane, Jolanda di Savoia Italy −3.44 m (−11.3 ft)
12= parts of West Flanders Belgium −3 m (−10 ft)
12= North Slob, County Wexford Ireland −3 m (−10 ft)
14 The Fens United Kingdom −2.75 m (−9 ft)
15= Étang de Lavalduc France −2 m (−7 ft)
15= Amsterdam Netherlands −2 m (−7 ft) Netherlands coastal provinces (−1 to −7 m) (−3 to −23 ft)
15= Kristianstad Sweden −2 m (−7 ft)
15= Żuławy Wiślane Poland −2 m (−7 ft) Baltic delta of the Vistula River

North America[]

Sea level sign (2/3 of the way up the cliff face) above Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park, USA
# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1 Badwater Basin, Death Valley, California United States −86 m (−282 ft)[5] lowest point in North America
2 Bombay Beach, California United States −69 m (−226 ft) Salton Sink −66 m (−217 ft)
3 Salton Sea Beach, California United States −67 m (−220 ft) Salton Sink −66 m (−217 ft)
4 Desert Shores, California United States −61 m (−200 ft) Salton Sink −66 m (−217 ft)
5 Calipatria, California United States −56 m (−184 ft) Salton Sink −66 m (−217 ft)
6 Westmorland, California United States −48 m (−157 ft) Salton Sink −66 m (−217 ft)
7 Lake Enriquillo Dominican Republic −46 m (−151 ft) lowest place on an island country.
8 Niland, California United States −43 m (−141 ft) Salton Sink −66 m (−217 ft)
9 Salton City, California United States −38 m (−125 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
10= Brawley, California United States −37 m (−121 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
10= Thermal, California United States −37 m (−121 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
12 Coachella, California United States −22 m (−72 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
13 Imperial, California United States −18 m (−59 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
14 Seeley, California United States −13 m (−43 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
15 El Centro, California United States −12 m (−39 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
16 Laguna Salada, Baja California Mexico −10 m (−33 ft)
17 Indio, California United States −6 m (−20 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
18 Heber, California United States −5 m (−16 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
19 Holtville, California United States −3 m (−10 ft) Salton Sink, −66 m (−217 ft)
20 New Orleans, Louisiana United States −2 m (−7 ft)

Oceania[]

# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1 Lake Eyre Australia −16 m (−52 ft) lowest land in Australia
2 Lake Frome Australia −6 m (−20 ft)
3 Taieri Plain New Zealand −2 m (−7 ft) lowest land in New Zealand

South America[]

# Name Country Depth Notes / references
1 Laguna del Carbón Argentina −105 m (−344 ft) lowest land in the Americas
2 , Río Negro province Argentina −72 m (−236 ft)
3 and , Valdés Peninsula, Chubut Province Argentina −42 m (−138 ft)
4 , Sechura Desert, Piura Region Peru −34 m (−112 ft)
5 Georgetown, Guyana 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, covered permanently by the largest glacier 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 during the geological past, as measured by continuous volume of atmospheric air below sea level, was the dry bed of the Mediterranean Sea of the late Miocene period during the Messinian salinity crisis.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "News Story – Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica's landmass". News Story – Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica’s landmass. NERC BASS. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
  2. ^ Jonathan Amos (December 12, 2019). "Denman Glacier: Deepest point on land found in Antarctica". BBC. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Mathieu Morlighem; Eric Rignot; Tobias Binder; Donald Blankenship; Reinhard Drews; Graeme Eagles; Olaf Eisen; Fausto Ferraccioli; René Forsberg; Peter Fretwell; Vikram Goel; Jamin S. Greenbaum; Hilmar Gudmundsson; Jingxue Guo; Veit Helm; Coen Hofstede; Ian Howat; Angelika Humbert; Wilfried Jokat; Nanna B. Karlsson; Won Sang Lee; Kenichi Matsuoka; Romain Millan; Jeremie Mouginot; John Paden; Frank Pattyn; Jason Roberts; Sebastian Rosier; Antonia Ruppel; Helene Seroussi; Emma C. Smith; Daniel Steinhage; Bo Sun; Michiel R. van den Broeke; Tas D. van Ommen; Melchior van Wessem; Duncan A. Young (2019-12-12). "Deep glacial troughs and stabilizing ridges unveiled beneath the margins of the Antarctic ice sheet". Nature Geoscience. 13 (2): 132–137. Bibcode:2019NatGe..13..132M. doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0510-8. S2CID 209331991. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  4. ^ Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 378. ISBN 0-89577-087-3.
  5. ^ "Highest and Lowest Elevations". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved April 29, 2021.

External links[]

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