What is the maximum depth of the Caspian Sea. Caspian Sea: description, depth, width, interesting facts

The Caspian Sea is the most big lake On the Earth. It is called the sea because of its size and bed, which is folded like an ocean basin. The area is 371,000 square meters, the depth is 1025 m. The list of rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea includes 130 names. The largest of them are: Volga, Terek, Samur, Sulak, Ural and others.

Caspian Sea

It took 10 million years before the Caspian was formed. The reason for its formation is that the Sarmatian Sea, having lost contact with the World Ocean, was divided into two bodies of water, which were called the Black and Caspian Seas. Thousands of kilometers of waterless road stretch between the latter and the World Ocean. It is located at the junction of two continents - Asia and Europe. Its length in the north-south direction is 1200 km, west-east - 195-435 km. The Caspian Sea is an internal drainage basin of Eurasia.

At the Caspian Sea, the water level is below the level of the World Ocean, moreover, it is subject to fluctuations. According to scientists, this is due to many factors: anthropogenic, geological, climatic. Currently, the average water level reaches 28 m.

The river network and wastewater are unevenly distributed along the coast. A few rivers flow into a part of the sea from the north side: Volga, Terek, Ural. From the west - Samur, Sulak, Kura. The east coast is characterized by the absence of permanent streams. Differences in space in the flow of waters that bring rivers to the Caspian are important geographic feature this reservoir.

Volga

This river is one of the largest in Europe. It is the sixth largest in Russia. In terms of the catchment area, it is second only to the Siberian rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, such as the Ob, Lena, Yenisei, Irtysh. For the source from which the Volga originates, the key is taken near the Volgoverkhovye village of the Tver region on the Valdai Upland. Now at the source there is a chapel attracting the attention of tourists, for whom it is a pride to step over the very beginning of the mighty Volga.

A small, fast stream is gradually gaining strength and becomes a huge river. Its length is 3690 km. The source is 225 m above sea level. Among the rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, the Volga is the largest. Its path runs through many regions of our country: Tver, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Volgograd and others. The territories through which it flows are Tatarstan, Chuvashia, Kalmykia and Mari El. The Volga is the location of millionaire cities - Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Kazan, Volgograd.

Volga delta

The main channel of the river is divided into channels. A definite shape of the mouth is formed. It is called delta. Its beginning is the place where the Buzan branch separates from the Volga river bed. The delta is located 46 km north of the city of Astrakhan. It includes channels, branches, small rivers. There are several main branches, but only Akhtuba is navigable. Among all the rivers in Europe, the Volga has the largest delta, which is the rich fish region of this basin.

It lies lower than ocean level, at 28 m. The mouth of the Volga is the location of the southernmost Volga city of Astrakhan, which in the distant past was the capital of the Tatar Khanate. Later, at the beginning of the 18th century (1717), Peter I endowed the city with the status of “the capital of the Astrakhan province”. During his reign, the main attraction of the city, the Assumption Cathedral, was built. Its Kremlin is made of white stone brought from the capital of the Golden Horde, Saray. The mouth is divided by arms, the largest of which are: Bolda, Bakhtemir, Buzan. Astrakhan is a southern city spread over 11 islands. Today it is a city of shipbuilders, sailors and fishermen.

Currently, the Volga needs protection. For this purpose, a reserve has been established in the place where the river flows into the sea. Delta of the Volga, largest river, flowing into the Caspian Sea, is replete with unique flora and fauna: sturgeon fish, lotuses, pelicans, flamingos and others. Immediately after the 1917 revolution, a law was passed on their protection by the state as part of the Astrakhan reserve.

Sulak river

It is located in Dagestan, flows through its territory. It feeds on the waters of melted snows that flow from the mountains, as well as tributaries: Maly Sulak, Chvakhun-bak, Akh-su. Water also enters Sulak through the canal from the Aksai and Aktash rivers.

The source is formed by the confluence of two rivers that originate in the basins: Didoiskaya and Tushinskaya. The length of the Sulaks River is 144 km. Its pool has a fairly large area - 15 200 square meters. It flows along the canyon with the same name as the river, then along the Akhetlinsky gorge and finally comes out onto the plane. Skirting the Agrakhan Gulf with south side, Sulak flows into the sea.

The river provides Kaspiysk and Makhachkala with drinking water, there are hydroelectric power plants, urban-type settlements Sulak and Dubki, as well as the small town of Kizilyurt.

Samur

The river got this name for a reason. The name translated from the Caucasian language (one of them) means "middle". Indeed, the waterway along the Samur River marked the border between the states of Russia and Azerbaijan.

The sources of the river are glaciers and springs, originating in the spurs of the Caucasian ridge from the northeastern side, not far from Guton Mountain. The height above sea level is 3200 m. Samur has a length of 213 km. The height in the upper reaches and the mouth differs by three kilometers. The catchment basin has an area of ​​almost five thousand square meters.

The places where the river flows are narrow gorges located between the mountains. great height composed of shale and sandstone, which is why the water here is muddy. The Samur basin has 65 rivers. Their length reaches 10 km and more.

Samur: the valley and its description

The valley of this river in Dagestan is the most densely populated area. Derbent, the oldest city in the world, is located near the mouth. The banks of the Samur River are home to twenty or more species of relict flora. Endemics, endangered and rare species listed in the Red Book grow here.

In the delta of the river, there is a relict forest, which is the only one in Russia. The liana forest is a fairy tale. Huge trees of the rarest and most common species, intertwined with lianas, grow here. The river is rich in valuable fish species: mullet, pike perch, pike, catfish and others.

Terek

The river got its name from the Karachai-Balkarian peoples who lived along its banks. They called her "Terk Suu", which means "rushing water" in translation. The Ingush and Chechens called it Lomeki - "mountain water".

The beginning of the river is the territory of Georgia, the Zigla-Khokh glacier is a mountain located on a slope Caucasian ridge... It is under glaciers all year round. One of them melts when sliding down. A small stream forms, which is the source of the Terek. It is located at an altitude of 2713 m above sea level. The length of the river flowing into the Caspian Sea is 600 km. When it flows into the Caspian, the Terek is divided into many branches, resulting in the formation of a vast delta, its area is 4000 square meters. In some places it is very swampy.

The channel in this place has changed several times. The old sleeves are now being turned into canals. The middle of the last century (1957) was marked by the construction of the Kargalinsky hydroelectric complex. It is used to supply water to the canals.

How is the Terek replenished?

The river has a mixed feeding, but for the upper course, waters from the melting of glaciers play an important role, they fill the river. In this regard, 70% of the runoff occurs in spring and summer, that is, at this time the water level in the Terek is the highest, and the lowest - in February. The river freezes if winters are characterized by a harsh climate, but the freeze-up is unstable.

The river is not clean and transparent. Turbidity of water is large: 400-500 g / m 3. Every year the Terek and its tributaries pollute the Caspian Sea, pouring into it from 9 to 26 million tons of various suspensions. This is due to the rocks from which the banks are composed, and they are clayey.

Mouth Terek

The Sunzha is the largest tributary flowing into the Terek, the lower reaches of which are measured precisely from this river. By this time, the Terek has been flowing for a long time across the flat terrain, leaving the mountains behind the Elkhotovo gate. The bottom here is composed of sand and pebble rocks, the current slows down, and in some places it stops altogether.

The mouth of the Terek River has unusual view: the channel is raised above the valley, along outward appearance resembles a canal, which is fenced off by an embankment of great height. The water level rises above the land level. This phenomenon is due to a natural cause. Since the Terek is a turbulent river, it brings sand and stones in large quantities from the Caucasian ridge. Considering that the current in the lower reaches is weak, part of them settles here and does not reach the sea. For the inhabitants of this area, sediments are both a threat and a boon. When they are washed away by water, floods of great destructive force occur, this is very bad. But in the absence of floods, the soil becomes fertile.

Ural river

In ancient times (until the second half of the 18th century) the river was called Yaik. It was renamed in Russian by the decree of Catherine II in 1775. It was at this time that the Peasant War, led by Pugachev, was suppressed. The name has survived to this day in the Bashkir language, and in Kazakhstan it is official. The Ural is the third longest in Europe, the largest of this river is only the Volga and Danube.

The Ural originates in Russia, on the slope of the Round Hill of the Uraltau ridge. The source is a spring that gushes out of the ground at an altitude of 637 m above sea level. At the beginning of its path, the river flows in the north-south direction, but after the plateau meets on the way, it makes a sharp turn and continues to flow in the north-west direction. However, beyond Orenburg, its direction again changes to the south-west, which is considered the main one. Having overcome the winding path, the Ural flows into the Caspian Sea. The length of the river is 2,428 km. The wellhead is divided into sleeves and tends to become shallow.

The Ural is a river along which there is a natural water border between Europe and Asia, with the exception of the upper course. It is an inland European river, but its headwaters east of Ural ridge are the territory of Asia.

The importance of the rivers of the Caspian

The rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea are of great importance. Their waters are used for human and animal consumption, domestic needs, agricultural and industrial needs. Hydroelectric power plants are being built on the rivers, the energy of which is demanded by humans for various purposes. The river basins are full of fish, algae, and shellfish. Even in ancient times, people chose river valleys for future settlements. And now cities and towns are being built on their banks. Rivers are plowed by passenger and transport ships, performing important tasks for the transport of passengers and goods.

The Caspian Sea is located on the border of Europe and Asia and is surrounded by the territories of five states: Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. Despite the name, the Caspian is the largest lake on the planet (its area is 371,000 km2), but the bottom, formed by the oceanic crust, and salt water, together with its large size, give reason to consider it as a sea. A large number of rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, for example, such large ones as the Volga, Terek, Ural, Kura and others.

Relief and depth of the Caspian Sea

According to the bottom relief, the Caspian Sea is divided into three parts: southern (the largest and deepest), middle and northern.

In the northern part, the depth of the sea is the smallest: on average, it ranges from four to eight meters, and the maximum depth here reaches 25 m. The northern part of the Caspian Sea is limited by the Mangyshlak Peninsula and occupies 25% of the entire area of ​​the reservoir.

The middle part of the Caspian Sea is deeper. Here the average depth is already equal to 190 m, while the maximum is 788 meters. The area of ​​the middle Caspian Sea is 36% of the total, and the volume of water is 33% of the total volume of the sea. It is separated from the southern part by the Absheron Peninsula in Azerbaijan.

The deepest and large part Of the Caspian Sea - southern. It occupies 39% of the total area, and its share of the total water volume is 66%. Here is the South Caspian depression, in which the deepest point of the sea is located - 1025 m.

Islands, peninsulas and bays of the Caspian Sea

In total, there are about 50 islands in the Caspian Sea, almost all of them are uninhabited. Due to the shallower depth of the northern part of the sea, most of the islands are located there, among them the Baku archipelago belonging to Azerbaijan, the Seal Islands in Kazakhstan, as well as many Russian islands off the coast Astrakhan region and Dagestan.

Among the peninsulas of the Caspian Sea, the largest are Mangyshlak (Mangistau) in Kazakhstan and Absheron in Azerbaijan, where such big cities as the capital of the country Baku and Sumgait.

Gulf of Kara-Bogaz-Gol Caspian Sea

The coastline of the sea is strongly indented, and there are many bays on it, for example, Kizlyar, Mangyshlak, Dead Kultuk and others. The Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay deserves a special mention, which is actually a separate lake connected to the Caspian by a narrow strait, due to which a separate ecosystem and higher water salinity are preserved in it.

Fishing in the Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea has long attracted the inhabitants of its shores with its fish resources. Here, about 90% of all world sturgeon production is caught, as well as fish such as carp, bream, sprat.

Caspian Sea video

In addition to fish, the Caspian is extremely rich in oil and gas, the total reserves of which are about 18-20 million tons. Salt, limestone, sand and clay are also mined here.

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The program of celebration of the Day of the Caspian Sea has begun in Astrakhan today. Such holidays are celebrated in five Caspian states. Although the Caspian does not require so much in modern conditions festive events how much respect from all who inhabit its shores and exploit its wealth.

“Caspian News”, of course, cannot stand aside, because the attitude towards the Caspian Sea is in the very name and ideology of our portal. Our story about a unique reservoir is a kind of tribute to the “hero of the occasion”.

The uniqueness of the Caspian Sea lies, first of all, in the fact that it is not a sea at all, but the most real closed lake... The sea should have access to the World Ocean, which the Caspian does not have, on the other hand, it is salt Lake possesses all sea signs, from the ebb and flow and ending with real storms, about which the sailors say: "Anyone who has survived a storm in the Caspian is not afraid of any oceanic storms." And the oceanic bottom relief is convincing evidence that initially the Caspian, together with the Black and Azov Seas, belonged to a single ancient reservoir, that is, it was part of the World Ocean.

Where the Caspian Lake is now located, a depression was formed in the earth's crust several tens of thousands of years ago. Today it is filled with the waters of the Caspian. At the end of the 20th century, the water level in the Caspian Sea was 28 meters below the level of the World Ocean. About six thousand years ago, the waters of the Caspian gained independence, parting with the World Ocean. Another feature that distinguishes the Caspian from the sea is that the salinity of the water in it is almost three times lower than the salinity of the sea. This is because the rivers carry their fresh waters to the Caspian Sea. The Volga accounts for the largest contribution: it gives the sea-lake almost 80% of all waters. And it also connects the Caspian with the World Ocean through a system of canals. That is why this lake is still considered the sea!

In terms of its area and volume of water, the Caspian Sea-Lake has no equal on Earth. The volume of water in the Caspian Sea is 44% of the reserve of all lake waters of the planet! If we talk about the depth of reservoirs, their area and volume of water, the lake can compete with the Yellow, Baltic and Black Seas and surpasses the Aegean and Adriatic Seas in the same parameters.

Not every sea can boast of having so many names in its history as the Caspian: as many as seventy! Every traveler, every expedition to the Caspian Sea and the ancient peoples inhabiting its coast, gave him their names. The most famous names are: Dzhurdzhanskoe, Khvalynskoe, Shirvanskoe, Derbentskoe, Sarayskoe and finally, Khazarskoe. In Azerbaijan and Iran, the Caspian Sea is still called the Khazar Sea. And the sea got its modern name because of the tribes of the Caspian horse breeders, who for a long time inhabited the eastern parts of the Caucasus and the steppes of the Caspian territories.

The Caspian Sea is the hero of many legends and traditions in the epic of all peoples living on its shores. Legends, as a rule, tell about the love of the mighty and beautiful hero of the Caspian Sea for some of the beauties named Volga, Kura or Amu-Darya - the choice is huge, since about 130 large and small rivers flow into the sea, nine of which have mouths in the form deltas. Fantasy on the theme of love is about the same for everyone.

The sea water area is divided into three areas: North, Middle and South Caspian. The North Caspian is shallow. The most great depth The Middle Caspian near the Derbent depression is about 788 m. Beyond the Apsheron rapids, the South Caspian begins, it is here that the sea is deepest: about 1025 m. For clarity, imagine three Eiffel towers stacked on top of each other.

There are many secrets and mysteries associated with the Caspian Sea. In 1939, archaeologists-divers found a flooded ancient gostiny dvor (caravanserai) in the Baku bay. Many inscriptions have survived on the walls, indicating that the building was erected in 1234-1235. Perhaps these are leftovers ancient city Sabail. Ancient quarries have been discovered in the sea nearby. And in 1940, when laying a dam on the Absheron Peninsula, an ancient cemetery was discovered at the bottom of the sea. The burials date back to the 1st century BC. It can be assumed that the level of the Caspian in those days was about four meters lower than the present.

It is no coincidence that the inscription on geographic map, compiled in 1320, reads: “The sea comes to one palm every year, and already many good cities flooded "

Instrumental measurement of the level of the Caspian Sea and systematic observations of its fluctuation have been carried out since 1837. Most high level water level was registered in 1882 (-25.2 m), the lowest - in 1977 (-29.0 m), since 1978 the water level has been rising and in 1995 reached the level of -26.7 m, since 1996 it has started to decrease, and since 2001 - to increase again and reached the level of -26.3 m. The reasons for this "behavior" of the Caspian Sea are in climate change, as well as geological and anthropogenic factors.

Another mystery of the unique sea-lake remains the Caspian seal: scientists cannot answer the question of where the animal of northern latitudes came from in the Caspian. In total, 1809 species of various groups of animals live in the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is also famous for its valuable fish species, in particular sturgeon. Their reserves account for up to 80% of the world's resources. The most valuable caviar is not black, as many are accustomed to believe, but white. The albino beluga caviar "Almas" has a color from light gray to white. The lighter, the more expensive: the cost of 100 grams is $ 2,000. This fish is caught in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Iran.

Many oil and gas fields are being developed in the Caspian Sea. The first oil well was drilled on the Absheron Peninsula near Baku back in 1820. In 1949, for the first time, they began to extract oil from the bottom of the Caspian Sea. Salt, limestone, stone, sand and clay are also mined on the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Caspian shelf.

The Caspian Sea washes the shores of five countries: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Russia. For several years now, the Caspian Day has been celebrated in every country, reminding that the Caspian is not just a drinker and breadwinner for the peoples inhabiting its shores, but a very fragile ecosystem.

By the way, in 1978, the World Maritime Day appeared in the calendar of world events, which belongs to the international days of the UN, designed to draw the attention of mankind to the problems of the hydraulic system. There is also an international day of the Black Sea: in 1996, representatives of Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Georgia signed a strategic action plan to save the Black Sea. In this series, the day of the Caspian Sea is also, rather, not a holiday, but a warning, a warning to people about how everything is interconnected in this world and how it is possible, mercilessly exploiting, to lose what is dear to everyone.

Marina Parenskaya

The Caspian Sea is one of the most amazing enclosed bodies of water on Earth.

The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of Europe with Asia and along geographic location divided into the South, North and Middle Caspian.
The middle and northern part of the sea belongs to Russia, the southern part belongs to Iran, the eastern part belongs to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, and the south-western part belongs to Azerbaijan.

For many years, the Caspian states have been dividing the Caspian waters among themselves, and quite sharply at that.

Caspian Sea map

Lake or sea?

But the Caspian does not have a natural connection with the World Ocean, which makes it impossible to call it a sea.
At the same time, thanks to the Volga and artificially created channels, such a connection appeared.

The salinity of the Caspian Sea is 3 times lower than the usual sea salt, which does not allow attributing the reservoir to the seas.

There were times when Caspian Seas really was part of the oceans.
Several tens of thousands of years ago, the Caspian was connected with the Sea of ​​Azov, and through it with the Black and Mediterranean.
As a result of long-term processes occurring in the earth's crust, Caucasus mountains, which isolated the reservoir.
For a long time, the connection between the Caspian and Black Seas was carried out through the strait (Kumo-Manych depression) and gradually ceased.

Physical quantities

Area, volume, depth

Depth of the Caspian Sea in comparison with lakes Baikal and Tanganyika

The length of the lake from north to south is about 1200 km, from west to east on average 315 km. Length coastline- 6600 km, with islands - about 7 thousand km.

The shores

Sea water temperature

The temperature of the Caspian Sea at different times of the year

Summer average temperature the sea surface is + 24 ° C.
Most of the sea warms up to + 25 ° C ... + 30 ° C.
Warm water and beautiful sandy, occasionally shell and pebble beaches create excellent conditions for a good beach holiday.
In the eastern part of the Caspian Sea, near the city of Begdash, during the summer months, abnormally low water temperature.

The nature of the Caspian Sea

Islands, peninsulas, bays, rivers

Tyuleniy Island in the Caspian Sea, which is part of the Dagestan Nature Reserve

130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea located mainly in its northern part. The largest of them are: Volga, Terek, Sulak, Samur and Ural.
The average annual runoff of the Volga is 220 km³. 9 rivers have delta-shaped mouths.

Flora and fauna

More than 120 species of fish live in the Caspian and the delta... The objects of fishing are sprat ("Kilkin fleet"), catfish, pike, bream, pike perch, kutum, mullet, roach, rudd, herring, white fish, pike perch, goby, grass carp, burbot, asp and pike perch. Stocks of sturgeon and salmon are depleted today, but the sea is the largest supplier of black caviar in the world.

Fishing in the Caspian Sea is allowed all year round excluding the period from late April to late June... There are many fishing bases with all conviniences. Fishing in the Caspian Sea is a great pleasure. In any part of it, including in large cities, the catch is unusually rich.

Seal Caspian

Cities on the Caspian Sea

Baku Bay, Baku - a city on the Caspian Sea

Interesting Facts

Companies from 21 countries are taking part in the development of oil fields in the Caspian Sea. According to Russian estimates, offshore hydrocarbon reserves amount to 12 billion tons.

American scientists argue that a fifth of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are concentrated in the depths of the Caspian. This is more than the combined reserves of oil producing countries such as Kuwait and Iraq.

, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan

Geographical position

Caspian Sea - view from space.

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

The Caspian Sea is conventionally divided by physical and geographical conditions into 3 parts - the North Caspian, the Middle Caspian and the South Caspian. The conditional border between the North and Middle Caspian runs along the line about. Chechnya - Cape Tyub-Karagan, between the Middle and South Caspian - along the line of about. Residential - Cape Gan-Gulu. The area of ​​the North, Middle and South Caspian Sea is 25, 36, 39 percent, respectively.

Caspian Sea coast

Coast of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan

The territory adjacent to the Caspian Sea is called the Caspian region.

Peninsulas of the Caspian Sea

• Ashur-Ada
• Garasu
• Zyanbil
• Hara-Zira
• Sengi-Mugan
• Chygyl

Bays of the Caspian Sea

• Russia (Dagestan, Kalmykia and the Astrakhan region) - in the west and north-west, the length of the coastline is about 1930 kilometers
• Kazakhstan - in the north, north-east and east, the length of the coastline is about 2320 kilometers
• Turkmenistan - in the southeast, the length of the coastline is about 650 kilometers
• Iran - in the south, the length of the coastline is about 1000 kilometers
• Azerbaijan - in the south-west, the length of the coastline is about 800 kilometers

Cities on the coast of the Caspian Sea

On the Russian coast there are cities - Lagan, Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Izberbash and the most Southern City Russia Derbent. 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 the northern coast of the Caspian Sea.

Physiography

Area, depth, volume of water

The area and volume of water in the Caspian Sea varies significantly depending on the fluctuations in the water level. At a water level of -26.75 m, the area is approximately 371,000 square kilometers, the volume of water is 78 648 cubic kilometers, which is approximately 44% of the world's lake water reserves. The maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is in the South Caspian depression, 1025 meters above its surface. In terms of maximum depth, the Caspian Sea is second only to Baikal (1620 m) and Tanganyika (1435 m). The average depth of the Caspian Sea, calculated according to the bathygraphic curve, is 208 meters. At the same time, the northern part of the Caspian is shallow, its maximum depth does not exceed 25 meters, and the average depth is 4 meters.

Water level fluctuations

Vegetable world

The flora of the Caspian Sea and its coast is represented by 728 species. Of the plants in the Caspian Sea, algae predominate - blue-green, diatoms, red, brown, charovy and others, from flowering plants - zostera and ruppia. By origin, the flora belongs mainly to the Neogene age, however, some plants were introduced into the Caspian Sea by humans deliberately or on the bottoms of ships.

History of the Caspian Sea

Origin of the Caspian Sea

Anthropological and cultural history of the Caspian Sea

Finds in the Khuto cave off the southern coast of the Caspian Sea indicate that people lived in these parts about 75 thousand years ago. The first mentions of the Caspian Sea and tribes living on its coast are found at Herodotus. Approximately in the V-II centuries. BC NS. the tribes of the Saks lived on the coast of the Caspian. Later, during the period of the settlement of the Turks, during the IV-V centuries. n. NS. Talysh tribes (Talysh) lived here. According to ancient Armenian and Iranian manuscripts, Russians sailed in the Caspian Sea from the 9th-10th centuries.

Exploration of the Caspian Sea

The exploration of the Caspian Sea was started by Peter the Great, when, on his order, in 1714-1715, an expedition was organized under the leadership of A. Bekovich-Cherkassky. In the 1720s, hydrographic research was continued by the expedition of Karl von Verden and F.I.Soimonov, and later by I.V. Tokmachev, M.I.Voinovich and other researchers. At the beginning of the 19th century, instrumental survey of the coast was carried out by I.F.Kolodkin, in the middle of the 19th century. - instrumental geographic survey under the direction of N. A. Ivashintsev. Since 1866, for more than 50 years, expeditionary research on the hydrology and hydrobiology of the Caspian has been conducted under the leadership of N.M. Knipovich. In 1897, the Astrakhan Research Station was founded. In the first decades of Soviet power in the Caspian Sea, geological research by I. M. Gubkin and other Soviet geologists was actively carried out, mainly aimed at finding oil, as well as research to study the water balance and fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea.

Economy of the Caspian Sea

Mining of oil and gas

Many oil and gas fields are being developed in the Caspian Sea. The proven oil resources in the Caspian Sea are about 10 billion tons, the total oil and gas condensate resources are estimated at 18-20 billion tons.

Oil production in the Caspian Sea began in 1820, when the first oil well was drilled on the Absheron shelf near Baku. In the second half of the 19th century, oil production began in industrial volumes on the Apsheron Peninsula, then in other territories.

Shipping

Shipping is well developed in the Caspian Sea. Ferry services operate on the Caspian Sea, in particular, Baku - Turkmenbashi, Baku - Aktau, Makhachkala - Aktau. The Caspian Sea has a shipping connection with Sea of ​​Azov across the Volga, Don and Volga-Don canal.

Fishing and seafood production

Fishing (sturgeon, bream, carp, pike perch, sprat), caviar and seal fishing. More than 90 percent of the world's sturgeon catch is carried out in the Caspian Sea. In addition to industrial production, illegal production of sturgeon and their caviar is flourishing in the Caspian Sea.

Recreational resources

The natural environment of the Caspian coast with sandy beaches, mineral waters and curative mud in the coastal area creates good conditions for relaxation and treatment. At the same time, in terms of the development of resorts and tourism industry, the Caspian coast is noticeably inferior to the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. However, in last years the tourism industry is actively developing on the coasts of Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Russian Dagestan. Azerbaijan is actively developing resort area in the Baku region. At the moment, a world-class resort has been created in Amburan, another modern tourist complex is being built in the area of ​​the village of Nardaran, recreation in the sanatoriums of the villages of Bilgah and Zagulba is very popular. A resort area is also developing in Nabran, in the north of Azerbaijan. but high prices, in general, the low level of service and the lack of advertising lead to the fact that there are almost no foreign tourists in the Caspian resorts. Development tourism industry in Turkmenistan, a long-term policy of isolation interferes; in Iran, there are Sharia laws, which make it impossible for foreign tourists to have a mass rest on the Caspian coast of Iran.

Ecological problems

Environmental problems of the Caspian Sea are associated with water pollution as a result of oil production and transportation on the continental shelf, the influx of pollutants from the Volga and other rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, the life of coastal cities, as well as flooding of certain objects due to the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea. Predatory hunting of sturgeon and their caviar, rampant poaching lead to a decrease in the number of sturgeon and to forced restrictions on their production and export.

International status of the Caspian Sea

Legal status of the Caspian Sea

After the collapse of the USSR, the division of the Caspian Sea for a long time was and still remains the subject of unresolved disagreements related to the division of the resources of the Caspian shelf - oil and gas, as well as biological resources... For a long time, negotiations were going on between the Caspian states on the status of the Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan insisted on dividing the Caspian along the median line, Iran - on dividing the Caspian by one fifth between all the Caspian states.

With regard to the Caspian, the key is the physical and geographical circumstance that it is a closed inland water body that does not have a natural connection with the World Ocean. Accordingly, the norms and concepts of international maritime law should not be automatically applied to the Caspian Sea, in particular, the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. economic zone "," continental shelf ", etc.

The current legal regime of the Caspian Sea was established by the Soviet-Iranian treaties of 1921 and 1940. These treaties provide for freedom of navigation throughout the sea, freedom of fishing with the exception of ten-mile national fishing zones and a ban on ships flying the flag of non-Caspian states in its waters.

Negotiations on the legal status of the Caspian are ongoing.

Delimitation of sections of the seabed of the Caspian Sea for the purpose of subsoil use

The Russian Federation signed an agreement with Kazakhstan on delimiting the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use (dated July 6, 1998 and the Protocol to it dated May 13, 2002), an agreement with Azerbaijan on delimiting adjacent sections of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea (dated September 23, 2002), as well as the trilateral Russian-Azerbaijani-Kazakh agreement on the junction point of the delimitation lines of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea bottom (dated May 14, 2003), which established geographical coordinates dividing lines limiting the seabed areas within which the parties exercise their sovereign rights in the field of exploration and production of mineral resources.