The Caspian Sea, The Largest Lake In The World

Its name already indicates that the Caspian Sea is not just any lake. Due to its impressive dimensions, it is worth considering a true sea. However, it is the end of an endorheic basin into which several rivers in this area flow, where the limits between Europe and Asia converge. Do you want to know more about the Caspian Sea? Keep reading because there is a lot to tell.

The size of the Caspian Sea

On other occasions we have told you about other lakes that occupy the highest world positions in the ranking in certain characteristics. This is the case of Lake Titicaca, which is the highest navigable in the world, or Baikal, the deepest of all the lakes on the planet. Today is the turn of the Caspian Sea, it is the largest of all those you can discover on the globe.

The Caspian Sea is neither more nor less than 371,000 km². It has a great axis from north to south that extends for 1,210 kilometers. To give you an idea, it is something like traveling from Cádiz to Girona. Meanwhile, its distance from east to west is 436 kilometers at the widest point and 210 at the narrowest. In short, huge!

But we can still give you more interesting facts about the Caspian Sea. For example, it has a more than considerable depth at certain points. There are places where the underwater bed plunges almost a kilometer deep.

On the other hand, it must be said that its waters are at a height below the level of the oceans. Today they are 28 meters below, although this number is variable and currently has a tendency to descend even more.

The rivers that feed the Caspian Sea

Such a lake, sorry sea, needs an immense supply of water. And that is largely due to the fact that here the great volume of the Volga flows, which for more than 3,500 kilometers runs Russia from north to south. A river that is the largest in all of Europe and that is the largest contribution of the Caspian.

But not the only one, since other outstanding rivers are the Ural, which also has almost 2,500 kilometers of route; the Kurá, coming from the Caucasus mountains; or the Emba River, which irrigates much of Kazakhstan.

The countries on the shores of the Caspian

Currently, there are five sovereign countries that have territory on the shores of the Caspian Sea. They are Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. In fact, in the case of the latter, its historic capital Baku is located on the Caspian coastline.

This multinational nature of its waters can become a problem. Until a few decades ago, the Caspian Sea was only exploited by an Iranian and Soviet treaty. But with the fall of the USSR that has changed and now there are several governments involved in an issue on which they have not quite agreed. And it is that the richness of the Caspian Sea is as outstanding as its size.

What hides this gigantic lake

Traditionally, the greatest wealth of the Caspian Sea has been its fishing exploitation. And it is still very important, among other things because it is the ideal habitat for one of the most sought-after fish: sturgeons. Or rather, the female sturgeon as carriers of the roe, that caviar that only the richest can take for its outrageous market prices.

But in addition to that, the subsoil of the Caspian Sea holds large oil and gas pockets. And that is a good reason for dispute, as well as the possible exit to real seas of these fossil fuels. In fact, one of the most problematic issues is access to navigable rivers such as the Volga, which can connect with canals to the Black Sea and even the Baltic to the north.

In short, like practically any corner of this area of ​​the world straddling Europe and Asia, the Caspian Sea is also a most interesting and beautiful place. But it also implies a possible territorial conflict. Although, today, that does not prevent us from recommending your visit.