Top 11 Amazing Places Below Sea Level

From an airport that operates thousands of feet below sea level, too one of the saltiest places on earth. Here are some amazing sights that the ocean could look

From an airport that operates thousands of feet below sea level, too one of the saltiest places on earth. Here are some amazing sights that the ocean could look down on.

Amazing places below sea level

1. Taieri Plain

Lying just north of the Dunedin International Airport, is New Zealand’s lowest point, two meters below sea level. It’s all a part of the Taieri Plain, a three hundred square kilometer patch of farmland. The land is dominated by farm animals and lovely towns like Mosgiel and Maungatua. Floods in the region happen regularly and can be severe.

Nearby Attractions: Taieri River, Taieri River Track

2. Lammefjord

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This agricultural land in Denmark used to be a body of water. But a draining project started in 1873 and it took a really long time to complete. It wasn't until 1943 that the lowest lying elevations were pumped dry. Now the land is ideal for growing things like carrots and potatoes. At seven meters below sea level, it's, along with a polder in the western Netherlands, one of the lowest lying points in all of western Europe.

Nearby Attractions: Esterhoj, Faarevejle Kirke, Odsherred Zoo Rescue, Dragsholm Castle, Tuse Naes Kunsthaandvaerk, Gudmindrup Beach.

3. Georgetown

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The busiest place in Guyana (guy-anna), Georgetown is also the country's capital and is where some 120 thousand people call home.

Normally it lies right at sea level, 0, but at high tide, it's actually one meter below sea level. It's for this reason that the land is protected by a seawall and authorities decided to install an intricate network of canals to drain the city.

Georgetown is hot and humid. There’s no dry season, however, with all 12 months experiencing at least 2 average inches of precipitation.

Nearby Attractions: Pinang Peranakan Mansion, Wonderfood Museum Penang, Potomac River, Chesapeake, and Ohio Canal.

4. New Orleans

Until the Louisiana purchase in 1803 Napoleon and the French-owned New Orleans. The city was named after a French Regent in 1718. After the U.S. purchased the land New Orleans would become a melting pot of cultures, with American, French, Creole and African people creating a diverse mix of lifestyles. It’s why the city is such a unique, fun place to experience.

Nearby Attractions: St. Louis Cathedral, The French Market, Garden District, Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World.

5. Kristianstad

Sweden's lowest point, nearly two and a half meters below sea level can be found in this city. It’s why parts have systems of levees and pumps in place for flood protection.

In the recent past, they’ve gone to great lengths to protect the environment. They use no oil, coal or natural gas to warm buildings, a remarkable turnaround considering that just two decades ago all of their heating came from fossil fuels.

Nearby Attractions: The Railway Museum. Lillo, Ekenabben, Balsberget Och Balsbergsgrottan.

6. Lake Eyre, Australia

Every now and then, this basin will be filled with water, for a short time turning into Australia's largest lake, but the occasion is only volatile (temporary). Mostly in Lake Eyre Basin in South Australia is the lowest point of the continent at 49 feet (15 meters) below sea level. It's filled with a salt pan and there is no outlet. Similar to several below-sea-level basins on Earth, Lake Eyre is usually hot for most of the year and is situated in a desert. The floor of this basin is the result of the remains of an ancient lake bed.

7. Salton Sea, California, USA

The Salton Sea finds its place in the Southern California desert, immersing part of the otherwise exposed San Andreas Rift area between the two continental plates, and unlike the Dead Sea Rift area between Israel and Jordan, the lowest place on the planet, Earth. Saltton Sea is 234 feet (71.3 meters) below sea level and it is a salt lake, as well as California's largest lake. With a maximum depth of 43 feet (13 meters), the deepest point of the lake is only 5 feet more than the Death Valley's Badwater. In 1905, the lake was formed because of heavy rains that overrun the canals in the Imperial Valley. Extra water cascaded back to the north in the basin. Plenty of settlements have tried to do their efforts for the lake with some on and off success, but the Salton Sea continues to be unprotected by increasing salinity and alarming levels of fertilizer outflow from the Imperial Valley. Nevertheless, it remains a significant bird migratory haven on the North American flyway. Fishing is popular for Tilapia because it is the only species that can withstand the salinity levels of 5.0% w/v.

8. Argentina, Laguna Del carbon, Baj Del Gualicho, Salina Grande, and Saline Chica

Inside Argentina, are all the important areas in South America which are below sea level. Among them is the lowest place in the Southern and Western Hemisphere. The Laguna del Carbon is at -344 feet (-105 meters) depth. These three regions are located in the southern provinces of Argentina. In Santa Cruz Province, Laguna del Carbon is a salt lake which has no outlet or it has no outflow or is in a closed basin. Bajo del Gualicho in the Rio Negro province, below sea level, is 236 feet i.e. (-72 meters). The place is best known for its fauna, the Valdes Peninsula in Chubut Province houses Salina Chica and depleted Salina Grande which low height of -138 feet (-42 meters.)

9. Qattara Depression, Egypt

Africa tops the list of the largest number of places found below sea level and North Africa, especially. It has most of the locations within the continent only. Located in Egypt’s Libyan Desert, Qattara Depression is Africa's second-lowest point. It covers a large area of more than 7,000 square miles of land, below sea level, having an average close to 200 feet below sea level (-70 meters.) The below sea level having maximum depth reaches -436 feet (-133 meters.) A basin having no outlet, the Qattara Depression is very moistureless but supports Oasis, the most famous of which are Siwa and Cana, both occupied. Qattara Depression is known for salt pans, dunes, and strange wind-eroded rocks. More areas of North Africa below sea level includes Sabkhat Ghuzayyil, Libya (-47 meters/-154 feet), Sebkha paki Tah, Morocco, (-55 meters/-180 feet below sea level), Shatt al Gharsah, Tunisia (-17 m/-56 feet), and Chott Melrhir, Algeria (-40 m/-131 feet).

10. Turpan Depression, China

This depression is the third-lowest point in the Earth which reaches an altitude of 505 feet below sea level (-154 meters). Located in the western desert region of southern Mongolia, the Turan Depression is the hottest and driest region of the country. Formed by a defect, this depression is extremely large and vast and is encircled by some of the highest mountains on earth, especially the Tian Shan and Bogda Shan. This area has an old history and the ruins found in the entire basin are associated with the Silk Road route which passed through here two thousand years back. An intersection of cultures, some historic and archeological sites of the area include the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha caves, the Gaochang ruins, and Astana-Karakhoja ancient tombs.

11. Lake Assal, Djibouti

Lake Assal is located on the bottom of a hollow lake, lying 509 feet (-155 meters) below sea level. It is the second lowest point on Earth after the Dead Sea crack zone. The big area known as the Afar Depression is spread throughout Ethiopia, where the Danakil Depression is at an altitude of 410 feet below sea level (-125 meters). National Geographic detailed it as "the cruelest place on earth". This region houses the northern end of Africa's Great Rift Valley, which is a long cracked valley, where two plates are separated. Lake Assal is the lowest point of land in Africa and it is very specific by intensely high temperatures, volcanic landscapes, and desert - tagged as typical Earth's low points.

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