Caspian Tickets

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it is between Europe and Asia. It is east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia, south of the fertile plains of Southern Russia in Eastern Europe, and north of the mountainous Iranian Plateau of Western Asia. It covers 371,000 km² (143,000 sq mi) (excluding the highly saline lagoon of Garabogazköl) and a volume of 78,200 km³ (19,000 cu mi). It has a salinity of approximately 1.2% (12 g/l), about a third that of average seawater. It is bounded by Kazakhstan from mid-north to mid-east, Russia from mid-north to mid-west, Azerbaijan to the southwest, Iran to the south and adjacent corners, and Turkmenistan along southern parts of its eastern coast.

The sea stretches nearly 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) from north to south, with an average width of 320 km (200 mi). Its gross coverage is 386,400 km² (149,200 sq mi) and the surface is about 27 m (89 ft) below sea level. Its main freshwater inflow, Europe's longest river, the Volga, enters at the shallow north end as its principal inflow. Two deep basins form its central and southern zones. These lead to horizontal differences in temperature, salinity, and ecology. The seabed in the south reaches 1,023 m (3,356 ft) below sea level, which is the second lowest natural depression on Earth after Lake Baikal (−1,180 m or −3,870 ft). Written accounts from the ancient inhabitants of its coast perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and large size.

The Caspian Sea is home to a wide range of species and may be best known for its caviar and oil industries. Pollution from the oil industry and dams on rivers draining into it have harmed its ecology.