Caspian Sea : Ask Biography

Lake information

Name

Caspian Sea

Lake type

Endorheic, Saline, Permanent, Natural

Primary inflows

Volga River, Ural River, Kura River, Terek River

Primary outflows

Evaporation

Catchment area

3626000 km2 (1400006.4 sqmi)

Basin countries

Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan

Geography

Max. length

1030 km (640 mi)

Max. width

435 km (270.3 mi)

Surface area

371000 km2 (143243.9 sqmi)

Average depth

187 m (72.2 sqmi)

Max. depth

1025 m (0.6 mi)

Water volume

69400 km3 (26795.5 c�mi)

Residence time

250 years

Shore length

7000 km (4349.6 mi)

Surface elevation

-28 m (-91.9 ft)

Islands in lakes

26+ (see Island below)

Settlements

Baku (Azerbaijan), Rasht (Iran), Aktau (Kazakhstan), Makhachkala (Russia), Türkmenbaşy (Turkmenistan) (see article)

Home | Lake | Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea ( , , , , , ) is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of 371000 km2 (230.5 mi2) (not including Garabogazköl Aylagy) and a volume of 78200 km3 (18761.2 cumi). It is in an endorheic basin (it has no outflows) and is bounded to the north by Russia, to the south by Iran, western Azerbaijan, and eastern Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The ancient inhabitants of its littoral perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of most seawater. The Caspian Sea has been called Gilan (گیلان or دریای گیلان) on ancient maps. In Iran, it is referred to as Daryâ-ye Mazandaran (دریای مازندران), meaning "the Sea of Mazandaran" in Persian, and sometimes also as Daryâ-ye Khazar.