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Caspian Sea...
The Caspian Sea is the largest lake on Earth by area, with a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers (143,244 sq mi) and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers (18,761 cu mi). 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 most seawater.
The sea is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Manych Canal and the Volga-Don Canal.
Depending on the inflow of fresh water from its effluents, the Caspian Sea is a fresh-water lake in its northern portions. It is more saline on the Iranian shore. The largely dried-up Garabogazköl embayment routinely exceeds oceanic salinity.
History...
In classical antiquity among Greeks and Persians it was called the Hyrcanian Ocean. In Persian antiquity, as well as in modern Iran, it is known as the Mazandaran or Khazar Sea. In Turkic speaking countries it is known as the Khazar Sea since it may be possible that the Khazaran people were their ancestors. Old Russian sources call it the Khvalyn (Khvalynian) Sea after the Khvalis, inhabitants of Khwarezmia. Ancient Arabic sources refer to Bahr-e-Qazvin ? the Qazvin Sea.
The word Caspian is derived from the name of the Caspi, an ancient people that
lived to the west of the sea in Transcaucasia.
Strabo wrote that "to the country
of the Albanians belongs also the territory called Caspiane, which was named
after the Caspian tribe, as was also the sea; but the
tribe has now disappeared"
The Caspian Sea holds great numbers of sturgeon, which yield eggs that are processed into caviar. In recent years overfishing has threatened the sturgeon population to the point that environmentalists advocate banning sturgeon fishing completely until the population recovers. However, prices for sturgeon caviar are so high that fisherman can afford to pay similarly high bribes to authorities to look the other way, making regulations in many locations ineffective. Caviar harvesting further endangers the fish stocks, since it targets reproductive females.
The Caspian Seal (Phoca caspica, Pusa caspica in some sources) is endemic to the Caspian Sea, one of very few seal species living in inland waters (see also Baikal Seal).
The area has given its name to several species of birds, including the Caspian Gull and the Caspian Tern.
There are several species of fish endemic to the Caspian sea, including Kutum (also known as Caspian White Fish), Caspian Roach, Bream, and a species of salmon. Caspian Salmon is critically endangered.
Characteristics and ecology...
The Caspian has characteristics common to both seas and lakes. It is often listed as the world's largest lake, though it is not a freshwater lake.
The Volga River (about 80% of the inflow) and the Ural River discharge into the Caspian Sea, but it is endorheic, i.e. there is no natural outflow (other than by evaporation) except the Manych Canal. Thus the Caspian ecosystem is a closed basin, with its own sea level history that is independent of the eustatic level of the world's oceans. The Caspian became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago. The level of the Caspian has fallen and risen, often rapidly, many times over the centuries. Some Russian historians claim that a medieval rising of the Caspian caused the coastal towns of Khazaria, such as Atil, to flood. In 2004, the water level was -28 metres, or 28 metres (92 feet) below sea level.
Over the centuries, Caspian Sea levels have changed in synchronicity with the estimated discharge of the Volga, which in turn depends on rainfall levels in its vast catchment basin. Precipitation is related to variations in the amount of North Atlantic depressions that reach the interior, and they in turn are affected by cycles of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Thus levels in the Caspian sea relate to atmospheric conditions in the North Atlantic thousands of miles to the north and west. These factors make the Caspian Sea a valuable place to study the causes and effects of global climate change.
The last short-term sea-level cycle started with a sea-level fall of 3 m from 1929 to 1977, followed by a rise of 3 m from 1977 until 1995. Since then smaller oscillations have taken place. These changes have caused major environmental problems.
Transportation.
Several scheduled ferry services operate on the Caspian Sea, including:
The northern part of the Caspian Sea freezes during winter. In the coldest winters ice can also be found at south.
----- Original Message -----From: Marshall RubinSent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 12:38 PMSubject: Re: [Anaglyphs] Wojtek/Caspian sea viewThe Caspian Sea is a lake since it is a body of water completely surrounded by land (although it's a very large lake).Marshall----- Original Message -----From: Wojtek RychlikSent: Saturday, April 28, 2007 12:28 PMSubject: Re: [Anaglyphs] Wojtek/Caspian sea viewCaspian.
On Apr 27, 2007, at 7:03 PM, Dariush Radpour wrote:
Lake? which lake Wojtel?Very nice neighbourhood, well done hyper, but where is the lake?Wojtek
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