Caspian Sea

About Caspian Sea:

• It is the world’s largest water body that is enclosed or bordered by land on all sides.
• This massive lake is located between Asia and Europe.
• The sea’s name derives from the ancient Kaspi peoples, who once lived in Transcaucasia to the west.
• It is an endorheic basin (drainage basin without an outflow).
• It covers a total surface area of about 386,400 sq.km. and is about 1,200 km long and 320 km wide.
• Bordering countries: It is bordered by Russia and Azerbaijan on the west, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan on the north and east, and Iran on the south.
• The composition of the water of the Caspian Sea also varies from almost fresh in the northern parts of the lake to saltier southwards.
• The mean salinity of the Caspian Sea is now about one-third that of the oceans.
• Three major rivers—the Volga, the Ural, and the Terek—empty into the Caspian from the north.
• Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the largest port on the Caspian. Another important city along the Caspian is Iran’s Nowshahr.
• The sea contains as many as 50 islands, most of them small. The largest are Chechen, Tyuleny, Morskoy, Kulaly, Zhiloy, and Ogurchin.
• The sea is also known for its abundance of energy resources (oil and natural gas reserves in offshore fields and onshore on the coast of the sea).
• It is the source of most of the world’s caviar.