Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea
As captured by the MODIS on the orbiting Terra satellite
Coordinates	41°40′N 50°40′E
Lake type	Endorheic, Saline, Permanent, Natural
Primary  inflows	Volga River, Ural River, Kura River, Terek River
Primary  outflows	Evaporation
Catchment  area	3,626,000 km2 (1,400,000 sq mi)
Basin  countries	Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan
Max. length	1,030 km (640 mi)
Max. width	435 km (270 mi)
Surface area	371,000 km2 (143,200 sq mi)
Average depth	187 m (610 ft)
Max. depth	1,025 m (3,360 ft)
Water volume	69,400 km3 (16,600 cu mi)
Residence time	250 years
Shore  length1	7,000 km (4,300 mi)
Surface  elevation	−28 m (Template:Rnd/b-1 ft)
Islands	26+ (see Island below)
Settlements	Baku (Azerbaijan), Rasht (Iran), Aktau (Kazakhstan), Makhachkala (Russia), Türkmenbaşy (Turkmenistan) (see article)
References
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by both area and volume, with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometres (143,244 mi²) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometres (18,761 mi³). It is a landlocked (endorheic) body of water and lies between Russia and Iran. It has a maximum depth of about 1025 meters (3,363 ft). It is called a sea because when the Romans first arrived there, they tasted the water and found it to be salty. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of sea water.

Other websites

• Information on history and names of the Caspian Sea
• Caspian Sea Region
• Caspian Environment Programme
• Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (2003)
• Target: Caspian Sea Oil John Robb, 2004
• Dating Caspian sea level changes