Characteristics of the Caspian Lake. The seas of Russia are the Caspian Sea. The largest lake in the world

The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of two parts of the Eurasian continent - Europe and Asia. The Caspian Sea is shaped like the Latin letter S, the length of the Caspian Sea from north to south is approximately 1200 kilometers (36°34" - 47°13" N), from west to east - from 195 to 435 kilometers, on average 310-320 kilometers (46° - 56° E).

The Caspian Sea is conventionally divided according to physical and geographical conditions into 3 parts - the Northern Caspian, the Middle Caspian and the Southern Caspian. The conditional border between the Northern and Middle Caspian Seas passes along the Chechen line (island)- Tyub-Karagansky Cape, between the Middle and Southern Caspian Seas - along the Zhiloi line (island)- Gan-Gulu (Cape). The area of the Northern, Middle and Southern Caspian Sea is 25, 36, 39 percent, respectively.

According to one hypothesis, the Caspian Sea received its name in honor of the ancient tribes of horse breeders - the Caspians, who lived BC on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea. Throughout the history of its existence, the Caspian Sea had about 70 names among different tribes and peoples: the Hyrcanian Sea; The Khvalyn Sea or the Khvalis Sea is an ancient Russian name, derived from the name of the inhabitants of Khorezm who traded in the Caspian Sea - Khvalis; Khazar Sea - name in Arabic (Bahr al-Khazar), Persian (Darya-e Khazar), Turkish and Azerbaijani (Khazar denizi) languages; Abeskun Sea; Sarayskoye Sea; Derbent Sea; Xihai and other names. In Iran, the Caspian Sea is still called the Khazar or Mazandaran Sea. (after the name of the people inhabiting the coastal province of Iran of the same name).

Coastline The Caspian Sea is estimated at approximately 6500 - 6700 kilometers, with islands - up to 7000 kilometers. The shores of the Caspian Sea in most of its territory are low-lying and smooth. In the northern part the coastline is indented water streams and the islands of the Volga and Ural deltas, the banks are low and swampy, and the water surface in many places is covered with thickets. On east coast Limestone coasts predominate, adjacent to semi-deserts and deserts. The most winding shores are on the western coast in the area of the Absheron Peninsula and on the eastern coast in the area of the Kazakh Gulf and Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

Large peninsulas of the Caspian Sea: Agrakhan Peninsula, Absheron Peninsula, Buzachi, Mangyshlak, Miankale, Tub-Karagan.

There are about 50 large and medium-sized islands in the Caspian Sea with a total area of approximately 350 square kilometers. The largest islands: Ashur-Ada, Garasu, Gum, Dash, Zira (island), Zyanbil, Kur Dashi, Khara-Zira, Sengi-Mugan, Chechen (island), Chygyl.

Large bays of the Caspian Sea: Agrakhansky Bay, Komsomolets (bay) (formerly Dead Kultuk, formerly Tsesarevich Bay), Kaydak, Mangyshlak, Kazakh (bay), Turkmenbashi (bay) (formerly Krasnovodsk), Turkmen (bay), Gizilagach, Astrakhan (bay), Gyzlar, Girkan (formerly Astarabad) and Anzeli (formerly Pahlavi).

Off the east coast is salt Lake Kara Bogaz Gol, until 1980, was a bay-lagoon of the Caspian Sea, connected to it by a narrow strait. In 1980, a dam was built separating Kara-Bogaz-Gol from the Caspian Sea, in 1984 it was built culvert, after which the level of Kara-Bogaz-Gol dropped by several meters. In 1992, the strait was restored, through which water flows from the Caspian Sea to Kara-Bogaz-Gol and evaporates there. Every year, 8 - 10 cubic kilometers of water flow from the Caspian Sea to Kara-Bogaz-Gol (according to other sources - 25 thousand kilometers) and about 150 thousand tons of salt.

130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, of which 9 rivers have a delta-shaped mouth. Large rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea - Volga, Terek (Russia), Ural, Emba (Kazakhstan), Kura (Azerbaijan), Samur (Russian border with Azerbaijan), Atrek (Turkmenistan) and others. The largest river flowing into the Caspian Sea is the Volga, its average annual flow is 215-224 cubic kilometers. The Volga, Ural, Terek and Emba provide up to 88 - 90% of the annual runoff of the Caspian Sea.

The area of the Caspian Sea basin is approximately 3.1 - 3.5 million square kilometers, which is approximately 10 percent of the world's closed water basin area. The length of the Caspian Sea basin from north to south is about 2500 kilometers, from west to east - about 1000 kilometers. The Caspian Sea basin covers 9 states - Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.

The Caspian Sea washes the shores of five coastal states:

Russia (Dagestan, Kalmykia and Astrakhan region) - in the trap and north-west, the length of the coastline is 695 kilometers
Kazakhstan - in the north, northeast and east, the length of the coastline is 2320 kilometers
Turkmenistan - in the southeast, the length of the coastline is 1200 kilometers
Iran - in the south, coastline length - 724 kilometers
Azerbaijan - in the southwest, the length of the coastline is 955 kilometers

The largest city and port on the Caspian Sea is Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, which is located in the southern part of the Absheron Peninsula and has a population of 2,070 thousand people. (2003) . Other major Azerbaijani Caspian cities are Sumgait, which is located in the northern part of the Absheron Peninsula, and Lankaran, which is located near the southern border of Azerbaijan. To the South-East of the Absheron Peninsula, the oil workers’ village of Neftyanye Kamni is located, the buildings of which stand on artificial islands, overpasses and technological sites.

Large Russian cities- the capital of Dagestan Makhachkala and the most Southern City Russia Derbent - located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea. Astrakhan is also considered a port city of the Caspian Sea, which, however, is not located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, but in the Volga delta, 60 kilometers from north coast Caspian Sea.

On the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea there is a Kazakh city - the port of Aktau, in the north in the Ural delta, 20 km from the sea, the city of Atyrau is located, south of Kara-Bogaz-Gol on the northern shore of the Krasnovodsk Bay - the Turkmen city of Turkmenbashi, former Krasnovodsk. Several Caspian cities are located in the southern (Iranian) coast, the largest of them is Anzeli.

The area and volume of water of the Caspian Sea varies significantly depending on fluctuations in water levels. At a water level of −26.75 m, the area was approximately 392,600 square kilometers, the volume of water was 78,648 cubic kilometers, which is approximately 44 percent of the world's lake water reserves. The maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is in the South Caspian depression, 1025 meters from its surface level. In terms of maximum depth, the Caspian Sea is second only to Lake Baikal (1620 m.) and Tanganyika (1435 m.). Average depth The Caspian Sea, calculated from the bathygraphic curve, is 208 meters. At the same time, the northern part of the Caspian Sea is shallow, its maximum depth does not exceed 25 meters, and the average depth is 4 meters.

The water level in the Caspian Sea is subject to significant fluctuations. According to modern science, over the past 3 thousand years the amplitude of changes in the water level of the Caspian Sea has been 15 meters. Instrumental measurements of the level of the Caspian Sea and systematic observations of its fluctuations have been carried out since 1837, during which time the most high level water registered in 1882 (-25.2 m.), lowest - in 1977 (-29.0 m.), since 1978 the water level has risen and in 1995 reached −26.7 m; since 1996, a downward trend has emerged again. Scientists associate the reasons for changes in the water level of the Caspian Sea with climatic, geological and anthropogenic factors.

Water temperature is subject to significant latitudinal changes, most clearly expressed in winter period, when the temperature changes from 0 - 0.5 °C at the ice edge in the north of the sea to 10 - 11 °C in the south, that is, the water temperature difference is about 10 °C. For shallow water areas with depths less than 25 m, the annual amplitude can reach 25 - 26 °C. On average the water temperature is west coast 1 - 2 °C higher than in the east, and in the open sea the water temperature is 2 - 4 °C higher than on the coasts. Based on the nature of the horizontal structure of the temperature field in the annual cycle of variability, three time periods can be distinguished in the upper 2-meter layer. From October to March, the water temperature increases in the southern and eastern regions, which is especially clearly visible in the Middle Caspian. Two stable quasi-latitudinal zones can be distinguished, where temperature gradients are increased. This is, firstly, the border between the Northern and Middle Caspian, and, secondly, between the Middle and Southern. At the ice edge, in the northern frontal zone, the temperature in February-March increases from 0 to 5 °C, in the southern frontal zone, in the area of the Absheron threshold, from 7 to 10 °C. During this period, the least cooled waters are in the center of the South Caspian Sea, which form a quasi-stationary core. In April-May, the area of minimum temperatures moves to the Middle Caspian Sea, which is associated with faster heating of waters in the shallow northern part of the sea. True, at the beginning of the season in the northern part of the sea a large amount of heat is spent on melting ice, but already in May the temperature here rises to 16 - 17 °C. In the middle part the temperature at this time is 13 - 15 °C, and in the south it increases to 17 - 18 °C. Spring warming of water evens out horizontal gradients, and the temperature difference between coastal areas and the open sea does not exceed 0.5 °C. Warming of the surface layer, which begins in March, disrupts the uniformity of temperature distribution with depth. In June-September, horizontal uniformity in the temperature distribution in the surface layer is observed. In August, which is the month of greatest warming, the water temperature throughout the sea is 24 - 26 °C, and in the southern regions it rises to 28 °C. In August, the water temperature in shallow bays, for example, in Krasnovodsk, can reach 32 °C. The main feature of the water temperature field at this time is upwelling. It is observed annually along the entire eastern coast of the Middle Caspian and partially penetrates even into the Southern Caspian. The rise of cold deep waters occurs with varying intensity as a result of the influence of prevailing summer season northwest winds. The wind in this direction causes the outflow of warm surface waters from the coast and the rise of colder waters from the intermediate layers. Upwelling begins in June, but it reaches its greatest intensity in July-August. As a result, a decrease in temperature is observed on the water surface (7 - 15 °C). Horizontal temperature gradients reach 2.3 °C on the surface and 4.2 °C at a depth of 20 m. The source of upwelling gradually shifts from 41 - 42° N. in June to 43 - 45° N. in September. Summer upwelling is of great importance for the Caspian Sea, radically changing the dynamic processes in the deep-water area. In open areas of the sea, at the end of May - beginning of June, the formation of a temperature jump layer begins, which is most clearly expressed in August. Most often it is located between horizons of 20 and 30 m in the middle part of the sea and 30 and 40 m in the southern part. Vertical temperature gradients in the shock layer are very significant and can reach several degrees per meter. In the middle part of the sea, due to the surge off the eastern coast, the shock layer rises close to the surface. Since in the Caspian Sea there is no stable baroclinic layer with a large reserve of potential energy similar to the main thermocline of the World Ocean, then with the cessation of the prevailing winds causing upwelling and with the beginning of autumn-winter convection in October-November, a rapid restructuring of temperature fields to the winter regime occurs. In the open sea, the water temperature in the surface layer drops in the middle part to 12 - 13 °C, in the southern part to 16 - 17 °C. In the vertical structure, the shock layer is eroded due to convective mixing and disappears by the end of November.

The salt composition of the waters of the closed Caspian Sea differs from the oceanic one. There are significant differences in the ratios of concentrations of salt-forming ions, especially for waters in areas directly influenced by continental runoff. The process of metamorphization of sea waters under the influence of continental runoff leads to a decrease in the relative content of chlorides in the total amount of salts of sea waters, an increase in the relative amount of carbonates, sulfates, calcium, which are the main components in chemical composition river waters. The most conservative ions are potassium, sodium, chlorine and magnesium. The least conservative are calcium and bicarbonate ions. In the Caspian Sea, the content of calcium and magnesium cations is almost two times higher than in the Sea of Azov, and the sulfate anion is three times higher. Water salinity changes especially sharply in the northern part of the sea: from 0.1 units. psu in the mouth areas of the Volga and Ural up to 10 - 11 units. psu on the border with the Middle Caspian. Mineralization in shallow salty bays-kultuks can reach 60 - 100 g/kg. In the Northern Caspian, during the entire ice-free period from April to November, a salinity front of a quasi-latitudinal location is observed. The greatest desalination, associated with the spread of river flow across the sea, is observed in June. The formation of the salinity field in the Northern Caspian Sea is greatly influenced by the wind field. In the middle and southern parts of the sea, salinity fluctuations are small. Basically it is 11.2 - 12.8 units. psu, increasing in the southern and eastern directions. Salinity increases slightly with depth (by 0.1 - 0.2 psu units). In the deep-sea part of the Caspian Sea, in the vertical profile of salinity, characteristic deflections of isohalines and local extrema are observed in the area of the eastern continental slope, which indicate processes of bottom sliding of waters salinizing in the eastern shallow waters of the South Caspian. The salinity value also strongly depends on sea level and (which is related) on the volume of continental runoff.

The relief of the northern part of the Caspian Sea is a shallow undulating plain with banks and accumulative islands, the average depth of the Northern Caspian Sea is about 4 - 8 meters, the maximum does not exceed 25 meters. The Mangyshlak threshold separates the Northern Caspian from the Middle Caspian. The Middle Caspian is quite deep, the water depth in the Derbent depression reaches 788 meters. The Absheron threshold separates the Middle and Southern Caspian Seas. The Southern Caspian is considered deep-sea; the water depth in the South Caspian depression reaches 1025 meters from the surface of the Caspian Sea. Shell sands are widespread on the Caspian shelf, deep-sea areas are covered with silty sediments, and in some areas there is an outcrop of bedrock.

The climate of the Caspian Sea is continental in the northern part, temperate in the middle and subtropical in the southern part. In winter average monthly temperature The Caspian Sea varies from −8 −10 in the northern part to +8 - +10 in the southern part, in summer - from +24 - +25 in the northern part to +26 - +27 in the southern part. The maximum temperature recorded on the east coast was 44 degrees.

The average annual precipitation is 200 millimeters per year, ranging from 90-100 millimeters in the arid eastern part to 1,700 millimeters along the southwestern subtropical coast. Evaporation of water from the surface of the Caspian Sea is about 1000 millimeters per year, the most intense evaporation in the area of the Absheron Peninsula and in the eastern part of the South Caspian Sea is up to 1400 millimeters per year.

Winds often blow on the territory of the Caspian Sea, their average annual speed is 3-7 meters per second, the wind rose is dominated by north winds. In the autumn and winter months, winds become stronger, with wind speeds often reaching 35-40 meters per second. The most windy territories are the Absheron Peninsula and the environs of Makhachkala - Derbent, where the most high wave- 11 meters.

Water circulation in the Caspian Sea is related to runoff and winds. Because the most of The drainage falls on the Northern Caspian Sea, northern currents predominate. An intense northern current carries water from the Northern Caspian along the western coast to the Absheron Peninsula, where the current divides into two branches, one of which moves further along west bank, the other goes to the Eastern Caspian Sea.

The fauna of the Caspian Sea is represented by 1810 species, of which 415 are vertebrates. 101 species of fish are registered in the Caspian world, where most of the world's sturgeon reserves are concentrated, as well as freshwater fish such as roach, carp, and pike perch. The Caspian Sea is the habitat of fish such as carp, mullet, sprat, kutum, bream, salmon, perch, and pike. The Caspian Sea is also inhabited by marine mammal- Caspian seal. Since March 31, 2008, 363 dead seals have been found on the coast of the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan.

The flora of the Caspian Sea and its coast is represented by 728 species. Among the plants in the Caspian Sea, the predominant algae are blue-green, diatoms, red, brown, characeae and others, and among the flowering plants - zoster and ruppia. In origin, the flora is predominantly of Neogene age, but some plants were brought into the Caspian Sea by humans deliberately or on the bottoms of ships.

It is known that the sea is part of the World Ocean. From this geographically correct point of view, the Caspian Sea cannot in any way be considered a sea, since it is separated from the ocean by huge land masses. The shortest distance from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea, the closest of the seas included in the World Ocean system, is 500 kilometers. Therefore, it would be more correct to talk about the Caspian Sea as a lake. This largest lake in the world is often called simply the Caspian or lake-sea.

The Caspian Sea has a number of characteristics of a sea: its water is salty (however, there are other salty lakes), its area is not much inferior to the area of such seas as the Black, Baltic, Red, Northern and even exceeds the area of the Azov and some others (however, Canadian lake The upper one is also a huge area, like the three Seas of Azov). In the Caspian Sea there are often fierce storm winds and huge waves (and this is not uncommon on Lake Baikal).

So, after all, the Caspian Sea is a lake? That's Wikipedia says it And the Great Soviet Encyclopedia answers that no one has yet been able to give an exact definition of this issue - “There is no generally accepted classification.”

Do you know why this is very important and fundamental? And here's why...

The lake belongs to internal waters - the sovereign territories of coastal states, to which the international regime does not apply (the UN principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states). But the sea area is divided differently, and the rights of coastal states here are completely different.

In my own way geographical location The Caspian Sea itself, unlike the land territories surrounding it, has not been the object of any targeted attention on the part of the coastal states for many centuries. Only at the beginning of the 19th century. The first treaties were concluded between Russia and Persia: Gulistan (1813) 4 and Turkmanchaysky (1828), summing up the results of the Russian-Persian war, as a result of which Russia annexed a number of Transcaucasian territories and received the exclusive right to maintain a navy in the Caspian Sea. Russian and Persian merchants were allowed to trade freely on the territory of both states and use the Caspian Sea to transport goods. The Turkmanchay Treaty confirmed all these provisions and became the basis for maintaining international relations between the parties until 1917.

After the October Revolution of 1917, in a note of the new Russian government that came to power on January 14, 1918, it renounced its exclusive military presence in the Caspian Sea. The treaty between the RSFSR and Persia of February 26, 1921 declared invalid all agreements concluded before it by the tsarist government. The Caspian Sea became a body of water for the common use of the parties: both states were granted equal rights of free navigation, with the exception of cases when the crews of Iranian ships could include citizens of third countries using the service for unfriendly purposes (Article 7). The 1921 agreement did not provide for a maritime border between the parties.

In August 1935, the following agreement was signed, the parties to which were new subjects of international law - the Soviet Union and Iran, which acted under a new name. The parties confirmed the provisions of the 1921 agreement, but introduced into the agreement a new concept for the Caspian Sea - a 10-mile fishing zone, which limited the spatial limits of this fishery for its participants. This was done in order to control and preserve the living resources of the reservoir.

In the context of the outbreak of World War II, unleashed by Germany, an urgent need arose to conclude a new agreement between the USSR and Iran on trade and navigation in the Caspian Sea. The reason for this was the concern of the Soviet side, caused by Germany’s interest in intensifying its trade ties with Iran and the danger of using the Caspian Sea as one of the stages of the transit route. The agreement between the USSR and Iran 10 signed in 1940 protected the Caspian Sea from such a prospect: it repeated the main provisions of previous agreements, which provided for the presence of ships of only these two Caspian states in its waters. It also included a provision for its indefinite validity.

The collapse of the Soviet Union radically changed the regional situation in the former Soviet space, in particular in the Caspian region. Among a large number of new problems, the problem of the Caspian Sea arose. Instead of two states - the USSR and Iran, which previously bilaterally resolved all emerging issues of maritime navigation, fishing and the use of other living and non-living resources, now there are five of them. Of the former, only Iran remained, the place of the USSR was taken by Russia as successor, the other three are new states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. They had access to the Caspian Sea before, but only as republics of the USSR, and not as independent states. Now, having become independent and sovereign, they have the opportunity to participate on equal terms with Russia and Iran in the discussion and decision-making of all the issues mentioned above. This was also reflected in the attitude of these states towards the Caspian Sea, since all five states that had access to it showed equal interest in using its living and non-living resources. And this is logical, and most importantly, justified: the Caspian Sea is rich in natural resources, both fish stocks and black gold - oil and blue fuel - gas. Exploration and production of the last two resources became the subject of the most heated and protracted negotiations for a long time. But not only them.

In addition to the presence of rich mineral resources, the waters of the Caspian Sea are home to about 120 species and subspecies of fish; here is the global gene pool of sturgeon, the catch of which until recently accounted for 90% of the total world catch.

Due to its location, the Caspian Sea has traditionally and long been widely used for shipping, acting as a kind of transport artery between the peoples of the coastal states. Along its banks there are such large sea ports, like Russian Astrakhan, the capital of Azerbaijan Baku, Turkmen Turkmenbashi, Iranian Anzeli and Kazakh Aktau, between which routes for trade, cargo and passenger maritime transport have long been laid.

And yet, the main object of attention of the Caspian states is its mineral resources - oil and natural gas, which each of them can lay claim to within the boundaries that must be determined by them collectively on the basis of international law. And for this, they will have to divide between themselves both the waters of the Caspian Sea and its bottom, in the depths of which its oil and gas are hidden, and develop rules for their extraction with minimal damage to a very fragile environment, especially the marine environment and its living beings. inhabitants.

The main obstacle in resolving the issue of starting widespread mining of Caspian mineral resources for the Caspian states continues to be its international legal status: should it be considered a sea or a lake? The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that these states themselves must resolve it, and there is no agreement yet among their ranks. But at the same time, each of them strives to quickly begin production of Caspian oil and natural gas and make their sale abroad a constant source of funds to form their budget.

Therefore, oil companies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, without waiting for the end of the settlement of existing disagreements over the territorial division of the Caspian Sea, have already begun active production of its oil, in the hope of ceasing to be dependent on Russia, turning their countries into oil-producing countries and, in this capacity, starting build your own long-term trade relations with your neighbors.

However, the issue of the status of the Caspian Sea remains unresolved. Regardless of whether the Caspian states agree to consider it a “sea” or a “lake”, they will have to apply the principles corresponding to the choice made to the territorial division of its water area and bottom or develop their own for this case.

Kazakhstan advocated recognition of the Caspian Sea by the sea. Such recognition will make it possible to apply the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on Internal Waters, the Territorial Sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone, and the Continental Shelf to the division of the Caspian Sea. This would allow coastal states to gain sovereignty over the subsoil of the territorial sea (Article 2) and exclusive rights to the exploration and development of resources on the continental shelf (Article 77). But the Caspian Sea cannot be called a sea from the standpoint of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, since this body of water is closed and has no natural connection with the world ocean.

In this case, the option of joint use of its water area and bottom resources is also excluded.

In the agreements between the USSR and Iran, the Caspian Sea was considered as a border lake. With the Caspian Sea being given the legal status of a “lake”, it is expected to be divided into sectors, as is done in relation to border lakes. But there is no norm in international law obliging states to do exactly this: division into sectors is an established practice.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly made statements that the Caspian Sea is a lake, and its waters and subsoil are the common property of the coastal states. Iran also, from a position enshrined in treaties with the USSR, considers the Caspian Sea to be a lake. The country's government believes that this status implies the creation of a consortium for unified management of the production and use of its resources by the Caspian states. Some authors also share this opinion, for example, R. Mamedov believes that with this status, the extraction of hydrocarbon resources in the Caspian Sea by these states should be carried out jointly.

In the literature, a proposal was made to give the Caspian Sea the status of a “sui generis” lake, and in this case we are talking about the special international legal status of such a lake and its special regime. A regime implies the joint development by states of their own rules for the use of its resources.

Thus, recognition of the Caspian Sea as a lake does not require its obligatory division into sectors - each coastal state has its own part. In addition, in international law there are no rules at all on the division of lakes between states: this is their good will, behind which certain internal interests may be hidden.

Currently, all Caspian states recognize that the modern legal regime was established by the established practice of its use, but now the Caspian Sea is actually in common use not by two, but by five states. Even at the meeting of foreign ministers held in Ashgabat on November 12, 1996, the Caspian littoral states confirmed that the status of the Caspian Sea can be changed only with the consent of all five littoral states. Later, this was also confirmed by Russia and Azerbaijan in a joint statement dated January 9, 2001 on the principles of cooperation, as well as in the Declaration on Cooperation in the Caspian Sea signed between Kazakhstan and Russia dated October 9, 2000.

But during numerous Caspian negotiations, conferences and four summits of the Caspian states (Ashkhabad summit on April 23-24, 2002, Tehran summit on October 16, 2007, Baku summit on November 18, 2010 and Astra-Khan summit on September 29, 2014 d.) the Caspian countries failed to reach agreement.

So far, cooperation at the bilateral and trilateral level has proven to be more productive. Back in May 2003, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan entered into an agreement on the junction point of the demarcation lines of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea bottom, which was based on previous bilateral agreements. In the current situation, Russia, by its participation in these agreements, seemed to confirm that the agreements between the USSR and Iran are outdated and do not correspond to existing realities.

In the Agreement of July 6, 1998 between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, it was announced that the seabed would be delimited between adjacent and opposite parties along a modified median line based on the principle of fairness - agreement and understanding of the parties. At the bottom of the site, states have sovereign rights, but their common use of the water surface is preserved.

Iran perceived this agreement as separate and in violation of previous Treaties with the USSR in 1921 and 1940. However, it should be noted that in the preamble of the 1998 agreement, to which Russia and Kazakhstan were parties, the agreement was considered as a temporary measure pending the signing of the convention by all Caspian states.

Later, on July 19 of the same year, Iran and Russia made a joint statement in which they proposed three possible scenarios for the delimitation of the Caspian Sea. First: the sea should be shared on the basis of the condominium principle. The second scenario comes down to dividing the water area, waters, bottom and subsoil into national sectors. The third scenario, which is a compromise between the first and second options, involves dividing only the bottom between the coastal states, and considering the water surface to be common and open to all coastal countries.

The existing options for delimiting the Caspian Sea, including those mentioned above, are possible only if there is good political will of the parties. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have clearly expressed their position from the very beginning of the multilateral consultation process. Azerbaijan considers the Caspian Sea to be a lake and therefore should be divided. Kazakhstan proposes to consider the Caspian Sea a closed sea, citing the 1982 UN Convention (Articles 122, 123), and, accordingly, advocates its division in the spirit of the Convention. Turkmenistan has long supported the idea of joint management and use of the Caspian Sea, but foreign companies already developing resources off the coast of Turkmenistan influenced the policies of its president, who began to object to the establishment of a condominium regime, supporting the position of dividing the sea.

The first of the Caspian states to begin to use the hydrocarbon riches of the Caspian Sea under new conditions was Azerbaijan. After the conclusion of the “Deal of the Century” in September 1994, Baku expressed a desire to declare the adjacent sector an integral part of its territory. This provision was enshrined in the Constitution of Azerbaijan, adopted in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, Moscow, July 6, 1998, at a referendum on November 12, 1995 (Article 11). But such a radical position from the very beginning did not correspond to the interests of all other coastal states, especially Russia, which expresses fears that this will open access to the Caspian Sea to countries in other regions. Azerbaijan agreed to a compromise. The 2002 Agreement between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan on the delimitation of adjacent areas of the Caspian Sea established a provision in which the division of the bottom was carried out using the median line, and the water area of the reservoir remained in joint use.

Unlike Azerbaijan, which has expressed a desire to completely divide the Caspian Sea, Iran proposes to leave its subsoil and water for joint use, but does not object to the option of dividing the Caspian Sea into 5 equal parts. Accordingly, each member of the Caspian Five would be allocated 20 percent of the total territory of the reservoir.

Russia's point of view was changing. Moscow for a long time insisted on establishing a condominium, but wanting to build a long-term policy with its neighbors, who were not interested in considering the Caspian Sea as the property of five coastal states, changed its position. This then prompted the states to begin a new stage of negotiations, at the end of which the above Agreement was signed in 1998, where Russia declared that it was “ripe” for the division of the Caspian Sea. Its main principle was the position “common water - divide the bottom.”

Taking into account the fact that some Caspian states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, have reached agreements on the conditional delimitation of spaces in the Caspian Sea, we can conclude that they are actually satisfied with the already established regime with the division of its bottom along the modified median line and sharing the surface of the reservoir for navigation and fishing.

However, the lack of complete clarity and unity in the position of all coastal countries prevents the Caspian states themselves from developing oil production. And oil is of key importance to them. There is no clear data regarding their reserves in the Caspian Sea. According to the US Energy Information Agency in 2003, the Caspian Sea ranked second in oil reserves and third in gas reserves. The data from the Russian side is different: they speak of an artificial overestimation by Western experts of the energy resources of the Caspian Sea. Differences in assessments are due to the political and economic interests of regional and external players. The geopolitical significance of the region, which is associated with the foreign policy plans of the United States and the EU, became a factor in the distortion of the data. Zbigniew Brzezinski expressed the opinion back in 1997 that this region is the “Eurasian Balkans”.

It is the largest enclosed body of water in the world in terms of area. It is equal to 376,000 sq. km. It is the largest on earth in area tectonic lake, which is a remnant of the ancient Sarmatian Sea that existed during the Tertiary period. The Caspian Sea is essentially a lake with sea water, since it is an enclosed body of water located in a closed depression. He has no connection with the Sea; he is called for his enormous size, greater depth and because the water in it is sea. In Russia, among 2 million lakes, it is the largest. The shape of the sea resembles a seahorse. The Caspian Sea contains 80% of the world's sturgeon stocks,

About the origin of the name

There is a version that this sea-lake received the name “Caspian” in honor of the ancient tribes of Caspian guards who lived on the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea in the first millennium BC. e. By now it is known that this sea-lake has had 70 names throughout history among different tribes and peoples. It was called the Girgan Sea after the name of the province of Hyrcania, now the city of Gorgan, the Djurdzhan Sea after the name of the city of Djurdzhan (now Gorgan). This sea-lake was called Khvalynsky or Khvalissky after the name of the inhabitants of the city of Khorezm, the Khvalis, who traded at sea. In Arabic it was called Khazar from Bahr - El - Khazar. In the 14th century, the sea was called Abeskun after the name of the island and city in the Kura River delta. The lake was called Saraiskoe, Sikhai. It was called Derbent after the name of the city of Derbent in Dagestan, etc.

Where is?

Caspian Sea - the lake is located in the south of the European part, east of. In the north it washes the coast of the Caspian lowland. Sea - the lake washes the coasts of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan.

Exploration of the Caspian Sea

The first mentions of the Caspian Lake appeared among the ancient Greeks and Romans. The ancient scientist Herodotus, who lived in the 5th century BC. e. for the first time described this lake as an enclosed body of water and established that the ratio of the length of the lake to its width is 1: 6. After the overthrow of the Mongol-Tatar yoke, by decree of Ivan the Terrible, a map of Rus' was compiled under the name “Book of the Big Drawing, it depicted the flowing rivers. The first hydrographic descriptions by Russians were made in 1624. They did detailed description ports located on the coast of the Caspian Sea - lake. Active research began in the 18th century on the initiative of Peter the Great. Bekovich's expedition was sent to the Caspian Sea, which collected details about the eastern shores of the lake.

In the 18th century, an expedition was made here under the leadership of Voinovich, Gablitz, and Klodkin. In 1768 - 17774 the first academic expedition was carried out under the leadership of Pallas and Gmelin.

One of the first explorers of this reservoir was G.S. Karelin, who in 1832 led a large government expedition to study the northeastern shores of the Caspian Sea. He was the first explorer of these “desert places”. G.I. Karelin traveled on 4 flat-bottomed ships. Karelin walked to the south of the sea, further to the Mangyshlak Peninsula. In May 1836, G.I. Karelin examined and described the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea, “the terrible and mysterious Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. Karelin is the first who decided to penetrate this “black mouth”. In 1840, Eresman visited the east coast and described the Ustyurt plateau. In 1847, I.M. Zherebtsov made an accurate survey of the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay.

Nature of the sea - lakes

Dimensions

The Caspian Sea is a lake whose shape is strongly elongated from north to east. The length is 1200 km. Its average width is 320 km. In the southern part the sea-lake is wider compared to the northern one. The area and depths of the sea change slightly due to changes in water level in different years for several reasons. The volume of water in the sea is 78,648 cubic kilometers, which is equal to 44% of the reserves of all lake waters in the world.

Depths

The Caspian Sea is located in the South Caspian Basin. The maximum depth in the southern part of the sea is 1025 meters. In depth it is second only to Tanganyika. The average depth of the Caspian Sea is 208 meters. The sea-lake has three parts according to its depth. The northern part has an average depth of 200 meters, the middle part from 200 to 800 meters, and the young part from 200 to 1000 meters. The deepest South part this reservoir. The water level of the Caspian Sea is 28 meters lower than the water level of the World Ocean. If it is connected by a canal to, then the ports of Baku, Astrakhan, Guryev, Krasnovodsk will go under water.

Coastline

The length of the coastline is 6,700 km; if we count the length of the shores of the islands, then the length is 7,000 km. There are more than 50 large islands in the sea, and many small ones. The ruggedness of the coastline on the western coast is insignificant; there is one small Kizlyarsky (formerly Tsarevich, Komsomol) bay, the Agrakhansky Peninsula and Tyuleniy Island. In the north, thanks to the Volga delta, there are many small bays and small islands. Located in a place in the Caspian Sea.

The east coast is more rugged. On the eastern coast there are such large bays as Kara - Bogaz - Gol, Komsomolets, Mangyshlaksky, Turkmen Bashi formerly Krasnovodsk, Kazakh, Gyzlar.

The Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay is very large on the Caspian coast, which was connected to the Caspian Sea by a very narrow strait. On the eastern coast there are the largest peninsulas of the lake: Mangyshlaksky, Cheleken, Absheronsky with a heavily indented shore, in the north.

Climate

The northern part of the Caspian Sea is located in the temperate zone, the southern part in the subtropical zone.

There is a lot of water evaporation in the Caspian Sea, since the air temperature is high; in summer, the hottest and driest weather in Russia is established on the northern coast. The average air temperature in summer is above + 24C, and the maximum reaches up to + 47C. In winter, the air temperature on the northern coast is 4C and above zero C. The northern part of the sea freezes. Precipitation over the sea and its coast is less than 200 mm per year.

Water balance

Due to such climatic features, a layer of water one meter thick evaporates from the surface of the sea into the atmosphere every year. This meter is restored due to the flowing rivers such as Akhtuba, Terek, Sulak, Kura, Araks, and Ural. Replenishment of evaporated water occurs mainly due to the Volga and rains; it flows 400 km. cube There are fluctuations in the water balance: sometimes it exceeds evaporation, sometimes the influx of water. This is due to climatic fluctuations and fluctuations in the flow of water from inflowing rivers. IN last years the flow of water into the sea has greatly decreased. This happened due to a decrease in the water entering it from the Volga, since a lot of Volga water remains in reservoirs and is consumed by the numerous Volga cities and irrigated lands. Thanks to the hydroelectric power stations built on the Volga, the speed of water movement in the Volga decreased. As a result, the water level in the Caspian Sea has dropped significantly. The northeastern bays of the Caspian Sea—the lakes have become shallow. The area of the Caspian Sea has decreased by the amount of the area of the Azov Sea. There is another point of view regarding the decrease in water levels in the Caspian Sea. Scientists believe that this could have happened due to the lowering earth's crust. Climatic reasons played a significant role, since for several years in a row there were drier years, the evaporation of water exceeded its flow into the sea.

Features of water salinity and temperature

The northern part of the sea is almost fresh, thanks to the Volga, Terek, Akhtuba and others rivers it is 0.3 ppm. Further south, salinity increases to 13 ppm.

The water temperature varies from north to south. The average water temperature in the north is 0 - 10 C, in the south up to 23 C. On the west coast, the average annual temperature is 2 degrees warmer compared to the east.

Life in the Caspian Sea

In total, more than 100 species of fish live in the sea. Since the northern part of the Caspian Sea is fresher, and the sea itself does not have too much salinity, fish that are close relatives of river fish live here. Roach and bream, pike perch and asp, carp and pike, perch and sprat, and other species live here. In the Caspian Sea there live fish that enter rivers to spawn and raise offspring. These are sturgeon, sterlet, beluga, stellate sturgeon. Sturgeons, for example, go far up the Volga and Ural. The Caspian Sea is the main area on Earth where the main sturgeon stocks are concentrated. Here are 80% of the world's sturgeon stocks. In ancient times, the sea had a connection with the northern seas, and from there came the inhabitants of the northern seas. Such an inhabitant is the white fish, the sister of the polar fish nelma.

In the frozen northern part of the sea, seal pups hatch on the ice every winter. Man moved mullet fish from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, and shrimp were introduced. Shrimp are good food for seals. Many fish feed on worms, but this food is not enough, so people released the annelid worm Nereis, which multiplied well in the soil of the northern part of the Caspian Sea, and became an important food for many fish. Sturgeon and other fish, seals are protected. Thus, the Astrakhan Nature Reserve was created in the Volga delta and the northern part of the sea.

Use of the sea

The sea has been used by man since ancient times. Important waterways pass through it, connecting the ports of Russia: Astrakhan, Makhachkala, Baku, Aktau, Turkmenbashi and others. In addition, important waterways go from Russian ports to Azerbaijan, Iran, and Kazakhstan.

Fishing is carried out in the Caspian Sea, and oil is extracted from the bottom. A large level was discovered in Kashagan Bay in 2000. In the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Gulf is the world's largest natural factory of sodium sulfate, or mirabilite. Such an abundance of salt water settles onto the bottom and shore that you can simply shovel it and load it directly into bags. The only condition for the formation of mirabilite is the mixing of the bay waters with fresh water. The reserves of mirabilite in the bay amount to billions of tons; the reserves can be considered inexhaustible. The process of formation of this mineral slowed down somewhat due to a decrease in the water level of the bay.

The Caspian Sea is a unique natural lake; it is the largest in the world. Its nature changes from north to south. Its largest bay contains the world's largest deposit of mirabilite. It is the world's premier sturgeon habitat. The Caspian Lake is a unique water body of the land and continent of Eurasia, like Tanganyika in Africa, Air in , Geneva in Europe, Great American Lakes in , in

Articles about lakes in Russia

Is it correct to call the Caspian Sea a sea?

The Caspian Sea has a number of characteristics of a sea: its water is salty (however, there are other salty lakes), its area is not much inferior to the area of such seas as the Black, Baltic, Red, Northern and even exceeds the area of the Azov and some others (however, the Canadian Lake Superior also has a huge area , like the three Seas of Azov). In the Caspian Sea there are often fierce storm winds and huge waves (and this is not uncommon on Lake Baikal).

So, after all, the Caspian Sea is a lake? That's Wikipedia says it. And the Great Soviet Encyclopedia answers that no one has yet been able to give an exact definition of this issue - “There is no generally accepted classification.”

Do you know why this is very important and fundamental? And here's why...

Due to its geographical location, the Caspian Sea itself, unlike the land territories surrounding it, has not been the object of any targeted attention from the coastal states for many centuries. Only at the beginning of the 19th century. the first treaties were concluded between Russia and Persia: Gulistan (1813)4 and Turkmanchay (1828), summing up the results of the Russian-Persian war, as a result of which Russia annexed a number of Transcaucasian territories and received the exclusive right to maintain a military fleet in the Caspian sea. Russian and Persian merchants were allowed to trade freely on the territory of both states and use the Caspian Sea to transport goods. The Turkmanchay Treaty confirmed all these provisions and became the basis for maintaining international relations between the parties until 1917.

After the October Revolution of 1917, in a note dated January 14, 1918, the new Russian government that came to power renounced its exclusive military presence in the Caspian Sea. The treaty between the RSFSR and Persia of February 26, 1921 declared invalid all agreements concluded before it by the tsarist government. The Caspian Sea became a body of water for the common use of the parties: both states were granted equal rights of free navigation, with the exception of cases when the crews of Iranian ships could include citizens of third countries using the service for unfriendly purposes (Article 7). The 1921 agreement did not provide for a maritime border between the parties.

In the context of the outbreak of World War II, unleashed by Germany, an urgent need arose to conclude a new agreement between the USSR and Iran on trade and navigation in the Caspian Sea. The reason for this was the concern of the Soviet side, caused by Germany’s interest in intensifying its trade ties with Iran and the danger of using the Caspian Sea as one of the stages of the transit route. The agreement between the USSR and Iran10 signed in 1940 protected the Caspian Sea from such a prospect: it repeated the main provisions of previous agreements, which provided for the presence in its waters of ships of only these two Caspian states. It also included a provision for its indefinite validity.

The collapse of the Soviet Union radically changed the regional situation in the former Soviet space, in particular in the Caspian region. Among a large number of new problems, the problem of the Caspian Sea arose. Instead of two states - the USSR and Iran, which previously bilaterally resolved all emerging issues of maritime navigation, fishing and the use of other living and non-living resources, now there are five of them. Of the former, only Iran remained, Russia took the place of the USSR as successor, the other three are new states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. They had access to the Caspian Sea before, but only as republics of the USSR, and not as independent states. Now, having become independent and sovereign, they have the opportunity to participate on equal terms with Russia and Iran in discussions and decision-making in considering all the issues mentioned above. This was also reflected in the attitude of these states towards the Caspian Sea, since all five states that had access to it showed equal interest in using its living and non-living resources. And this is logical, and most importantly, justified: the Caspian Sea is rich in natural resources, both fish stocks and black gold - oil and blue fuel - gas. Exploration and production of the last two resources became the subject of the most heated and protracted negotiations for a long time. But not only them.

Due to its location, the Caspian Sea has traditionally and long been widely used for shipping, acting as a kind of transport artery between the peoples of the coastal states. Along its shores are located such large seaports as the Russian Astrakhan, the capital of Azerbaijan Baku, the Turkmen Turkmenbashi, the Iranian Anzeli and the Kazakh Aktau, between which routes for trade, cargo and passenger maritime transport have long been laid.

And yet, the main object of attention of the Caspian states is its mineral resources - oil and natural gas, which each of them can lay claim to within the boundaries that must be determined by them collectively on the basis of international law. And to do this, they will have to divide between themselves both the waters of the Caspian Sea and its bottom, in the depths of which its oil and gas are hidden, and develop rules for their extraction with minimal damage to a very fragile environment, especially the marine environment and its living inhabitants.

The main obstacle in resolving the issue of starting widespread mining of Caspian mineral resources for the Caspian states continues to be its international legal status: should it be considered a sea or a lake? The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that these states themselves must resolve it, and there is no agreement yet among them. But at the same time, each of them strives to quickly begin production of Caspian oil and natural gas and make their sale abroad a constant source of funds to form their budget.

Therefore, oil companies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, without waiting for the end of the settlement of existing disagreements over the territorial division of the Caspian Sea, have already begun active production of its oil, in the hope of ceasing to be dependent on Russia, turning their countries into oil-producing countries and already in this capacity begin to build their own long-term trade relations with neighbors.

In this case, the option of sharing its water area and bottom resources is also excluded.

In the literature, a proposal has been made to give the Caspian Sea the status of a “sui generis” lake, and in this case we are talking about the special international legal status of such a lake and its special regime. A regime implies the joint development by states of their own rules for the use of its resources.

Currently, all Caspian states recognize that the modern legal regime was established by the established practice of its use, but now the Caspian Sea is in actual common use not by two, but by five states. Even at a meeting of foreign ministers held in Ashgabat on November 12, 1996, the Caspian states confirmed that the status of the Caspian Sea can be changed only with the consent of all five coastal states. This was later also confirmed by Russia and Azerbaijan in a joint statement dated January 9, 2001 on the principles of cooperation, as well as in the Declaration on Cooperation in the Caspian Sea signed between Kazakhstan and Russia dated October 9, 2000.

But during numerous Caspian negotiations, conferences and four summits of the Caspian states (Ashgabat summit on April 23-24, 2002, Tehran summit on October 16, 2007, Baku summit on November 18, 2010 and Astrakhan on September 29, 2014) agreement was reached by the Caspian countries failed to achieve this.

In the Agreement of July 6, 1998 between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, it was announced that the seabed would be delimited between adjacent and opposite parties along a modified median line based on the principle of fairness and agreement of the parties. At the bottom of the site, states have sovereign rights, but their common use of the water surface is preserved.

The first of the Caspian states to begin to use the hydrocarbon riches of the Caspian Sea under new conditions was Azerbaijan. After the conclusion of the “Deal of the Century” in September 1994, Baku expressed a desire to declare the adjacent sector an integral part of its territory. This provision was enshrined in the Constitution of Azerbaijan, adopted in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, Moscow, July 6, 1998, at a referendum on November 12, 1995 (Article 11). But such a radical position from the very beginning did not correspond to the interests of all other coastal states, especially Russia, which has expressed fears that this would open access to the Caspian Sea to countries in other regions. Azerbaijan agreed to a compromise. The 2002 Agreement between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan on the delimitation of adjacent areas of the Caspian Sea established a provision in which the division of the bottom was carried out using the median line, and the water area of the reservoir remained in joint use.

Russia's point of view was changing. Moscow has long insisted on establishing a condominium, but wanting to build a long-term policy with its neighbors, who were not interested in considering the Caspian Sea as the property of five coastal states, it changed its position. This then prompted the states to begin a new stage of negotiations, at the end of which the above Agreement was signed in 1998, where Russia stated that it was “ripe” for the division of the Caspian Sea. Its main principle was the position “common water - divide the bottom.”

Taking into account the fact that some Caspian states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, have reached agreements on the conditional delimitation of spaces in the Caspian Sea, we can conclude that they are actually satisfied with the already established regime with the division of its bottom along a modified median line and the joint use of the surface reservoir for navigation and fishing.

However, the lack of complete clarity and unity in the position of all coastal countries prevents the Caspian states themselves from developing oil production. And oil is of key importance to them. There is no clear data regarding their reserves in the Caspian Sea. According to the US Energy Information Agency in 2003, the Caspian Sea ranked second in oil reserves and third in gas reserves. The data from the Russian side is different: they speak of an artificial overestimation by Western experts of the energy resources of the Caspian Sea. Differences in assessments are due to the political and economic interests of regional and external players. The geopolitical significance of the region, which is associated with the foreign policy plans of the US and the EU, became a factor in the distortion of the data. Zbigniew Brzezinski expressed the opinion back in 1997 that this region is the “Eurasian Balkans”.

Many geographical names, can mislead people who are not keen on geography. Could it be that an object designated as a sea on all maps is actually a lake? Let's figure it out.

The history of the appearance of the Caspian Sea?

14,000,000 years ago, the Sarmatian Sea existed on the planet. It included the modern Black, Caspian and Azov seas. About 6,000,000 years ago, due to the rise of the Caucasus Mountains and the decrease in water levels in the Mediterranean Sea, it divided, forming four different seas.

The Caspian is inhabited by many representatives of the fauna of Azov, which once again confirms that these reservoirs were once one whole. This is one of the reasons why the Caspian Sea is considered a lake.

The name of the sea comes from the ancient tribes of the Caspian Sea. They inhabited its shores in the first millennia BC and were engaged in horse breeding. But over the many hundreds of years of its existence, this sea has had many names. It was called Derbentsky, Saraisky, Girkansky, Sigai, Kukkuz. Even in our time, for residents of Iran and Azerbaijan, this lake is called Khazar.

Geographical location

Two parts of the world - Europe and Asia - are washed by the waters of the Caspian Sea. The coastline covers the following countries:

Turkmenistan
Russia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan

The length from north to south is about one thousand two hundred kilometers, the width from west to east is about three hundred kilometers. The average depth is about two hundred meters, the greatest depth is about a thousand kilometers. total area The reservoir covers more than 370,000 square kilometers and is divided into three climatic and geographical zones:

Northern
Average
Southern Caspian

The water area includes six large peninsulas and about fifty islands. Their total area is four hundred square kilometers. The largest islands are Dzhambaisky, Ogurchinsky, Chechen, Tyuleniy, Konevsky, Zyudev and the Absheron Islands. About one hundred and thirty rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, including the Volga, Ural, Atrek, Sefirud, Terek, Kura and many others.

Sea or lake?

The official name used in documentation and cartography is the Caspian Sea. But is this true?

In order to have the right to be called a sea, any body of water must be connected to the world's oceans. In the case of the Caspian Sea, this is not reality. The Caspian Sea is separated by almost 500 km of land from the nearest sea, the Black Sea. This is a completely enclosed body of water. The main differences between the seas:

The seas can be fed by waterways - rivers.
The external seas are directly connected to the ocean, that is, they have access to it.
Inland seas are connected to other seas or oceans by straits.

The Caspian received the right to be called a sea primarily because of its impressive size, which is more typical of seas rather than lakes. In area it surpasses even Azov. Also no small role was played by the fact that not a single lake washes the shores of five states at once.

It is worth noting that the structure of the Caspian Sea bottom is of the oceanic type. This happened due to the fact that it was once part of the ancient World Ocean.

Compared to other seas, the percentage of salt saturation in it is very weak and does not exceed 0.05%. The Caspian Sea is fed only by rivers flowing into it, like all lakes on the globe.

Like many seas, the Caspian is famous for its powerful storms. The height of the waves can reach eleven meters. Storms can occur at any time of the year, but they are most dangerous in autumn and winter.

In fact, the Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world. Its waters are not subject to international maritime laws. The territory of waters is divided between countries on the basis of laws adopted for lakes, and not for seas.

The Caspian Sea has rich mineral resources such as oil and gas. Its waters are inhabited by more than one hundred and twenty species of fish. Among them are the most valuable sturgeons, such as stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, sterlet, beluga, and thorn. 90% of the world's sturgeon catch comes from the Caspian Sea.

Interesting features:

Scientists around the world have not yet come to a clear conclusion as to why the Caspian Sea is considered a lake. Some experts even suggest considering it a “lake-sea” or an “inland” sea, like the Dead Sea in Israel;
The deepest point of the Caspian Sea is more than one kilometer;
Historically, it is known that the total water level in the reservoir has changed more than once. The exact reasons for this are still not understood;
It is the only body of water separating Asia and Europe;
The largest water artery feeding the lake is the Volga River. It is this that carries the bulk of the water;
Thousands of years ago the Caspian Sea was part of the Black Sea;
In terms of the number of fish species, the Caspian Sea is inferior to some rivers;
The Caspian Sea is the main supplier of the most expensive delicacy - black caviar;
The water in the lake is completely renewed every two hundred and fifty years;
Japanese territory less area Caspian Sea.

Ecological situation

Intervention into the ecology of the Caspian Sea regularly occurs due to the extraction of oil and natural resources. There are also interventions in the fauna of the reservoir, cases of poaching and illegal fishing of valuable fish species are frequent.

The water level in the Caspian Sea is falling every year. This is due to global warming, due to the influence of which the water temperature on the surface of the reservoir increased by one degree and the sea began to actively evaporate.

It is estimated that water levels have fallen by seven centimeters since 1996. By 2015, the level of the fall was about one and a half meters, and the water continues to fall.

If this continues, in a century the shallowest part of the lake may simply disappear. This will be the part that washes the borders of Russia and Kazakhstan. If global warming intensifies, the process may accelerate and this will happen much earlier.

It is known that long before the onset of global warming, the water level in the Caspian Sea underwent changes. The water kept rising and then falling. Scientists still cannot say exactly why this happened.