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Caspian Sea
| Caspian Sea | |
|---|---|
 As captured by the MODIS on the orbiting Terra satellite | |
| Coordinates | 41°40′N 50°40′E / 41.667°N 50.667°E |
| 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)[1] |
| 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 (−92 ft) |
| Islands | 26+ |
| Settlements | Baku (Azerbaijan), Rasht (Iran), Aktau (Kazakhstan), Makhachkala (Russia), Türkmenbaşy (Turkmenistan) |
| References | [1] |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by both area and volume. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometres (143,000 square miles). Its volume is 78,200 cubic kilometres (18,800 cubic miles). The Caspian has for 40 to 44% of the total lake waters of the world.[2]
The Caspian sea is an endorheic body of water. It is bordered by Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. It has a maximum depth of about 1,025 metres (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.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 van der Leeden, Troise, and Todd, eds. 1990. The Water Encyclopedia. 2nd ed, Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers, p196
- ↑ "Caspian Sea". Iran Gazette. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2010-05-17.
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