A seismic refraction experiment involving the use of 9 OBS and 11 portable seismic land stations was conducted along a profile in the north basin of the Dead Sea. The seismometers were deployed along a north-south profile in the lake and the adjacent land area. The interpretation of the recorded seismograms indicates the presence of two large Pliocene salt diapirs in the young basin fill. The basement lies at a relatively shallow depth (6--8 km) under the north basin. Further south along the profile a major fault affecting the basement was detected. The apparent sense of the faulting is down to the southeast, representing the boundary of the south basin. This major faulting with a downthrow of some 4--5 km has depressed the crystalline basement and the overlying Cretaceous and pre-Cretaceous sediments. The faulting was followed by the deposition of over 8 km of Recent and Tertiary sediments resulting in a 14 km thick sedimentary sequence in the south basin of the Dead Sea.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union