This paper presents experimental results obtained using the basin type solar still. The experiments were conducted in Jordan using a solar still with various cover tilt angles of 15, 25, 35, 45 and 55 degrees. An optimum tilt angle for water production was found to be 35 degrees during the month of May. Salt was added to study the effect of the salinity of water on solar distillation. Distilled water production decreased with salinity. The effect of water depth was also studied. The results show that water production decreased in a somewhat linear relationship with increasing water depth in the still. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.