Explore Jordan
Wadi Rum is the name given to a valley cut into the sandstone and hard rock in southwest Jordan.（46) The name Rum most likely comes from an Aramaic word meaning “high” or “elevated”,The area around Wadi Rum is now also one of Jordan‘s most important tourist destinations,and attracts an increasing number of foreign tourists,particularly trekkers（越野者)，but also for camel safaris（旅行) or simply day-trippers from Aqaba or Petra.In contrast,there are almost no local or Arab tourists through Popular activities in the desert environment include camping under the stars,riding Arab horses,and rock-climbing amongst the massive rock formations .Jebal Rum（Jebal means mountain )is 1574 metres above sea level.（47)。
But Jordan is not simply a desert environment ——it also contains the area which is the lowest point to the face of the Earth ——the incredible Dead Sea,popular with tourists for swimming.（48) Once the waters reach the Dead Sea they are landlocked and have nowhere to go,so they evaporate,leaving behind a dense,rich cocktail（混合的)of salts and minerals that supply industry,agriculture in water spa treatments and water therapies.
The Dead Sea is located in the syro-African Rift,a 4000-mile fault line in the Earth's crust.The lowest point of dry land on Earth is the shoreline of the Dead Sea at 1300 feet below sea level .Because the lake is at the lowest point,this means that water does not drain from it .（49) Figures for the Dead Sea's salinity（盐度)today range from 25% to 35%.
But the greatest tourist attraction is the incredible city of Petra.（50) It is a vast unique city,carved into the sheer rock face by the Nabataeans,an industrious Arab people who settled here more than 2000 years ago,turing it into an important junction for the silk,spice and other trade routes that linked China India and southern Arabia with Egypt,Syria,Greece and Rome .Today,visitors can marvel at the architecture and explore life as it was thousands of years ago .
A.It is the largest wadi（riverbed )in Jordan.
B.It is the second highest peak in Jordon,rising directly above the Rum valley opposite Jebal Urn Ishrin.
C.This vast stretch of water receives a number of incoming rivers,including the River Jordan.
D.The area has been used as a backgroud setting in a number of films.
E.Every day seven million tons of water evaporate from the lake,but the mineral remain causing the salt content to increase .
F.It is without doubt Jordan's most valuable treasure.
