Geography Games

The Lowest Points on Earth, Country by Country

Dry land dips well below sea level in a handful of places — most of them hot, salty and shrinking.

Updated August 29, 2026

The Lowest Points on Earth, Country by Country

The lowest exposed land on Earth is the shoreline of the Dead Sea, shared by Jordan, Israel and the West Bank, at about 430 m below sea level — and dropping roughly a metre a year as the sea evaporates faster than the Jordan River can refill it. A few other closed basins around the world reach far below sea level too.

The deepest land points

  1. Dead Sea shore (Jordan / Israel / West Bank) — about −430 m. The lowest land on the planet.
  2. Sea of Galilee (Israel) — about −214 m, the lowest freshwater lake on Earth.
  3. Lake Assal (Djibouti) — about −155 m, the lowest point in Africa and one of the saltiest bodies of water anywhere.
  4. Turpan Depression / Ayding Lake (China) — about −154 m, the lowest point in East Asia.
  5. Qattara Depression (Egypt) — about −133 m, a vast desert sink larger than some countries.
  6. Karagiye Depression (Kazakhstan) — about −132 m, near the Caspian Sea.
  7. Caspian Sea (shared by five countries) — its surface sits at about −28 m, and it is the lowest point of Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.
  8. Death Valley / Badwater Basin (United States) — about −86 m, the lowest point in North America and one of the hottest places on Earth.
  9. Laguna del Carbón (Argentina) — about −105 m, the lowest point in the Southern and Western Hemispheres.

Countries that lie mostly below sea level

The Netherlands is the classic case: about a quarter of its land and a fifth of its population sit below sea level, protected by dikes, dunes and pumps, with the lowest point near Rotterdam at about −7 m. The Maldives has the opposite problem — it is barely above sea level everywhere, with a highest natural point under 3 m, which makes it the country most exposed to sea-level rise.

Below the ice and the ocean

If you include land under ice, the Bentley Subglacial Trench in Antarctica reaches about −2,540 m — the lowest point on any continent, buried under the ice sheet. And the lowest point on the Earth's solid surface overall is the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, about 10,935 m below sea level, in the far western Pacific within waters administered by the United States (the Federated States of Micronesia lie nearby).

For the other end of the scale — the loftiest countries and the highest low point — see our elevation guide.

The highest countries →

FAQ

What is the lowest point on Earth's land surface?
The shore of the Dead Sea, at about 430 m below sea level, on the border of Jordan, Israel and the West Bank. It is the lowest exposed land anywhere and is still dropping as the sea shrinks.
What is the lowest point in Africa?
Lake Assal in Djibouti, at about 155 m below sea level — also one of the most saline lakes in the world.
Which country has the lowest point in the Americas?
The United States, at Badwater Basin in Death Valley, about 86 m below sea level. In South America it is Laguna del Carbón in Argentina, at about −105 m.
Which country is most below sea level?
The Netherlands has the largest share of populated land below sea level — about a quarter of the country — kept dry by an extensive system of dikes and pumps.

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