Drainless Caspian lake. Seasonal changes at sea. The history of the appearance of the Caspian Sea

It is known that the sea is part of the oceans. From this geographically correct point of view, the Caspian cannot be considered a sea, because it is separated from the ocean by huge land masses. The shortest distance from the Caspian to the Black Sea, the closest of the seas included in the system of the World Ocean, is 500 kilometers. Therefore, it would be more correct to speak of the Caspian as a lake. This is the world's largest lake, often referred to simply as the Caspian or lake-sea.

The Caspian Sea has a number of features of the sea: its water is salty (however, there are other salt lakes), the area is not much inferior to the area of ​​such seas as the Black, Baltic, Red, Northern, and even exceeds the area of ​​Azov and some others (however, Canadian Lake Superior also huge area like three Seas of Azov). In the Caspian, fierce storm winds and huge waves are frequent (and this is not uncommon in Baikal).

So, after all, the Caspian Sea is a lake? That's Wikipedia says it Yes, and the Great Soviet Encyclopedia answers that no one has yet been able to give an exact definition of this issue - "A generally accepted classification does not exist."

Do you know why this is very important and fundamental? And here's why...

The lake belongs to internal waters - the sovereign territories of coastal states, to which the international regime does not apply (the principle of non-intervention of the UN in the internal affairs of states). But the water area of ​​the sea is divided differently, and the rights of coastal states are completely different here.

In my own way geographic location The Caspian itself, in contrast to the land territories surrounding it, has not been the object of any targeted attention from the coastal states for many centuries. Only at the beginning of the XIX century. between Russia and Persia, the first treaties were concluded: Gulistan (1813) 4 and Turkmanchaisky (1828), summing up the results of the Russian-Persian war, as a result of which Russia annexed a number of Transcaucasian territories and received the exclusive right to maintain a navy in the Caspian Sea. Russian and Persian merchants were allowed to freely trade on the territory of both states and use the Caspian Sea to transport goods. The Turkmanchay Treaty confirmed all these provisions and became the basis for maintaining international relations between the parties until 1917.

After the October Revolution of 1917, in a note dated January 14, 1918, by the new Russian government that came to power, it renounced its exclusive military presence in the Caspian Sea. The agreement between the RSFSR and Persia of February 26, 1921 declared invalid all agreements concluded before it by the tsarist government. The Caspian Sea became a body of water for common use by the parties: both states were granted equal rights of free navigation, except in cases where the crews of Iranian ships could include citizens of third countries using the service for unfriendly purposes (Article 7). The 1921 agreement did not provide for a maritime border between the parties.

In August 1935, the following treaty was signed, the parties to which were new subjects of international law - the Soviet Union and Iran, which acted under the new name. The parties reaffirmed the provisions of the 1921 agreement, but introduced into the agreement a new concept for the Caspian - a 10-mile fishing zone, which limited the spatial limits of this fishery for its participants. This was done in order to control and conserve the living resources of the reservoir.

In the context of the outbreak of World War II, unleashed by Germany, an urgent need arose to conclude a new treaty between the USSR and Iran on trade and navigation in the Caspian. The reason for this was anxiety Soviet side, caused by Germany's interest in intensifying its trade relations with Iran and the danger of using the Caspian Sea as one of the stages of the transit route. The treaty signed between the USSR and Iran in 1940 10 protected the Caspian Sea from such a prospect: it repeated the main provisions of the previous agreements, which provided for the stay in its waters of the ships of only these two Caspian states. It also included a provision for its indefinite validity.

collapse Soviet Union radically changed the regional situation in the former Soviet space, in particular in the Caspian region. Among the large number of new problems, the problem of the Caspian also arose. Instead of two states - the USSR and Iran, which previously bilaterally resolved all emerging issues of maritime navigation, fishing and the use of its other living and non-living resources, now there are five of them. Of the former, only Iran remained, Russia took the place of the USSR on the rights of succession, the remaining three are new states: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan. They used to have access to the Caspian, but only as republics of the USSR, and not as independent states. Now, having become independent and sovereign, they have the opportunity to participate on an equal footing with Russia and Iran in the discussion and decision-making in the consideration of all the above issues. This was also reflected in the attitude of these states to the Caspian, since all five states that had access to it showed equal interest in the use of its living and non-living resources. And this is logical, and most importantly, justified: the Caspian Sea is rich in natural resources, both fish stocks and black gold - oil and blue fuel - gas. Exploration and production of the last two resources have long been the subject of the most heated and protracted negotiations. But not only them.

In addition to the presence of rich mineral resources, about 120 species and subspecies of fish live in the waters of the Caspian Sea, here is the world gene pool of sturgeons, the extraction of which, until recently, accounted for 90% of their total world catch.

Due to its location, the Caspian Sea has traditionally and long been widely used for navigation, acting as a kind of transport artery between the peoples of the coastal states. On its shores there are such large seaports as the Russian Astrakhan, the capital of Azerbaijan Baku, the Turkmen Turkmenbashi, the Iranian Anzeli and the Kazakh Aktau, between which trade, cargo and passenger sea transport routes have long been laid.

And yet, the main object of attention of the Caspian states is its mineral resources - oil and natural gas, to which each of them can claim within the limits that should be determined by them collectively on the basis of international law. And for this, they will have to divide between themselves both the Caspian Sea and its bottom, in the bowels of which its oil and gas are hidden, and develop rules for their extraction with minimal damage to a very fragile environment, primarily the marine environment and its living inhabitants.

The main obstacle in resolving the issue of the beginning of a wide extraction of the mineral resources of the Caspian Sea for the Caspian states continues to be its international legal status: should it be considered a sea or a lake? The complexity of the issue lies in the fact that these states themselves must solve it, and so far no agreement has been observed in their ranks. But at the same time, each of them seeks to start extracting Caspian oil and natural gas as soon as possible and make their sale abroad a permanent source of funds to form their budget.

Therefore, the oil companies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, without waiting for the end of the settlement of existing disagreements on the territorial division of the Caspian, have already begun active production of its oil, in the hope of ceasing to be dependent on Russia, turning their countries into oil-producing countries and already in this capacity begin build their own long-term trade relations with neighbors.

However, the issue of the status of the Caspian Sea remains unresolved. Regardless of whether the Caspian states agree to consider it a “sea” or a “lake”, they will have to apply the principles corresponding to the choice made or develop their own for this case to the territorial division of its water area and bottom.

Kazakhstan was in favor of recognizing the Caspian as a sea. Such recognition will make it possible to apply to the division of the Caspian the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on Internal Waters, the Territorial Sea, the Exclusive Economic Zone, and the Continental Shelf. This would allow the coastal states to gain sovereignty over the subsoil of the territorial sea (Article 2) and exclusive rights to explore and develop the resources of the continental shelf (Article 77). But the Caspian cannot be called a sea from the standpoint of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of ​​1982, since this body of water is closed and has no natural connection with the oceans.

In this case, the option of joint use of its water area and bottom resources is also excluded.

In the treaties between the USSR and Iran, the Caspian Sea was considered as a border lake. With the legal status of a "lake" given to the Caspian Sea, it is supposed to be divided into sectors, as is done with respect to border lakes. But in international law there is no rule obliging states to do just that: division into sectors is an established practice.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly made statements that the Caspian is a lake, and its waters and subsoil are the common property of the coastal states. Iran also considers the Caspian Sea as a lake from the position fixed in the treaties with the USSR. The country's government believes that this status implies the creation of a consortium for the unified management of the extraction and use of its resources by the Caspian states. Some authors also express this opinion, for example, R. Mammadov believes that with such a status, the extraction of hydrocarbon resources in the Caspian Sea by these states should be carried out jointly.

In the literature, there has been a proposal to give the Caspian Sea the status of a “sui generis” lake, and in this case we are talking about a special international legal status of such a lake and its special regime. Under the regime, it is assumed that the states jointly develop their own rules for the use of its resources.

Thus, the recognition of the Caspian as a lake does not require its mandatory division into sectors - each coastal state has its own part. In addition, there are no norms in international law on the division of lakes between states: this is their good will, behind which certain internal interests may be hidden.

At present, all the Caspian states recognize that the modern legal regime was established by the established practice of its use, but now the Caspian is in actual common use not by two, but by five states. Even at the meeting of foreign ministers held in Ashgabat on November 12, 1996, the Caspian states confirmed that the status of the Caspian Sea could be changed only with the consent of all five coastal states. Later, this was also confirmed by Russia and Azerbaijan in a joint statement dated January 9, 2001 on the principles of cooperation, as well as in the Declaration on cooperation in the Caspian Sea signed between Kazakhstan and Russia dated October 9, 2000.

But in the course of numerous Caspian negotiations, conferences and four summits of the Caspian states (Ash-Khabad summit on April 23-24, 2002, Tehran summit on October 16, 2007, Baku summit on November 18, 2010 and Astrakhan summit on September 29, 2014 d.) the Caspian countries failed to reach agreement.

More productive so far is cooperation at the bilateral and trilateral levels. Back in May 2003, Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the junction of the lines of delimitation of adjacent sections of the bottom of the Caspian Sea, which was based on previous bilateral agreements. In the current situation, Russia, by its participation in these agreements, seemed to confirm that the agreements between the USSR and Iran are outdated and do not correspond to the existing realities.

In the Agreement of July 6, 1998 between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan on the delimitation of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, the delimitation of the seabed between adjacent and opposite sides along a modified median line based on the principle of fairness was announced. - Livosti and agreements of the parties. At the bottom of the section, the states have sovereign rights, but their common use of the water surface is preserved.

Iran perceived this agreement as separate and violating the previous Treaties with the USSR of 1921 and 1940. However, it should be noted that in the preamble of the 1998 agreement, to which Russia and Kazakhstan were parties, the agreement was considered as a temporary measure pending the signing of the convention by all the Caspian states.

Later, on July 19 of the same year, Iran and Russia made a joint statement in which they proposed three possible scenarios for the delimitation of the Caspian Sea. First: the sea should be shared on the basis of the condominium principle. The second scenario boils down to dividing the water area, waters, bottom and subsoil into national sectors. The third scenario, which is a compromise between the first and second options, suggests dividing only the bottom between the coastal states, and considers the water surface to be common and open to all coastal countries.

The existing options for the delimitation of the Caspian Sea, including those mentioned above, are possible only if there is good political will on the part of the parties. Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have clearly expressed their position from the very beginning of the process of multilateral consultations. Azerbaijan considers the Caspian Sea to be a lake and, therefore, it should be divided. Kazakhstan proposes to consider the Caspian as a closed sea, referring to the 1982 UN Convention (Articles 122, 123), and, accordingly, advocates its division in the spirit of the Convention. Turkmenistan has long supported the idea of ​​joint management and use of the Caspian, but foreign companies already developing resources off the coast of Turkmenistan influenced the policy of its president, who began to object to the establishment of a condominium regime, supporting the position of dividing the sea.

Azerbaijan was the first of the Caspian states to start using the hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian under the new conditions. After the conclusion of the “Deal of the Century” in September 1994, Baku expressed a desire to declare the sector adjacent to it integral part its territory. This provision was also enshrined in the Constitution of Azerbaijan, adopted in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use, Moscow, July 6, 1998 at a referendum on November 12, 1995 (Article 11). But such a radical position from the very beginning did not correspond to the interests of all other coastal states, especially Russia, which expresses fears that this will open access to the Caspian Sea to countries in other regions. Azerbaijan agreed to a compromise. In the Agreement between the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea in 2002, a provision was fixed in which the division of the bottom was carried out using the median line, and the water area of ​​the reservoir remained in joint use.

Unlike Azerbaijan, which expressed a desire to completely divide the Caspian, Iran proposes to leave its bowels and water for joint use, but does not object to the option of dividing the Caspian into 5 equal parts. Accordingly, each member of the Caspian five would be allocated 20 percent of the total territory of the reservoir.

Russia's point of view was changing. For a long time Moscow insisted on the establishment of a condominium, but wishing to build a long-term policy with its neighbors, which did not benefit from considering the Caspian as the property of five coastal states, it changed its position. This then prompted the states to start new stage negotiations, at the end of which, in 1998, the above Agreement was signed, where Russia declared that it was "ripe" for the division of the Caspian. Its main principle was the position "the water is common - we divide the bottom."

Taking into account the fact that agreements have been reached between some of the Caspian states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, on the conditional delimitation of spaces in the Caspian, we can conclude that they are actually satisfied with the already established regime with the division of its bottom along a modified median line and sharing the surface of the reservoir for navigation and fishing.

However, the lack of complete clarity and unity in the position of all countries of the coast prevents the Caspian states themselves from developing oil production. And oil is of key importance to them. There are no unequivocal data regarding their reserves in the Caspian Sea. According to the US Energy Information Agency in 2003, the Caspian was ranked second in oil reserves and third in gas reserves. The data of the Russian side is different: they speak of an artificial overestimation by Western experts of the energy resources of the Caspian Sea. Differences in assessments are due to the political and economic interests of regional and external players. The data distortion factor was the geopolitical significance of the region, with which the foreign policy plans of the US and the EU are connected. Zbigniew Brzezinski back in 1997 expressed the opinion that this region is the "Eurasian Balkans".

The Caspian Sea is rightfully the most big lake on the whole planet and this sea-lake is located at the junction of two significant parts of the world: Asia and Europe.

Until now, there are disagreements in the name of the Caspian Sea: is it a sea or a lake. And it is called the sea due to the large size of the reservoir.

Origin of the sea

The Caspian Sea has an oceanic origin. It was formed approximately 10 million years ago as a result of the division of the Sarmatian Sea.

According to one of the legends, the Caspian reservoir received its modern name in honor of the Caspian tribes living on the southwestern shores. For all the time, the Caspian Sea has changed its name about 70 times.

currents

The water area of ​​the Caspian Sea can be divided into the following three parts:

• southern (39% of the area)
• medium (36% of the total area)
• northern part (25% of the area).

The currents of the reservoir are formed as a result of the following influences: the general influence of the wind regime, density differences in certain areas and the flow of inflowing rivers.

Off the western coast of the middle part of the Caspian, southern and southeastern currents predominate. For the middle and southern parts of the Caspian Sea, depending on the direction of the winds, currents of the northern, northwestern, southern and southeastern directions are characteristic. Eastern currents prevail in the eastern part of the Caspian.

The following currents also play an important role in the Caspian water cycle:

• seiche;
• gradient;
• inertial.

Which rivers flow into the Caspian Sea

The bulk of the river waters enter the Caspian through the Volga River. In addition to the Volga, the following rivers flow into this reservoir:

• Samur, flowing on the border of Azerbaijan and Russia;
• Astarachay, flowing on the border of Iran and Azerbaijan;
• Kura located in Azerbaijan;
• Kheraz, Sefudrud, Tejen, Polerud, Chalus, Babol and Gorgan flowing in Iran;
• Sulak, Kuma, located in the territory Russian Federation;
• Emba and Ural flowing in Kazakhstan;
• Atrek located in Turkmenistan.

Sulak river photo

Where does the Caspian Sea flow into?

The Caspian reservoir has no connection with the ocean, since it is an endorheic reservoir. The Caspian Sea has dozens of bays. The largest of them can be distinguished: Komsomolets, Gyzlar, Kara-Bogaz-Gol, Mangyshlak, Kazakh, Krasnovodsk and others. Also in the waters of the Caspian Sea there are about 50 islands of different sizes, with total area more than 350 km2. Some of the islands are grouped into archipelagos.

Relief

In the relief of the bottom of the Caspian, the following forms can be distinguished: in the south of the reservoir there are deep sea trenches; continental slope, starting just below the shelf line and descending to the southern part of the Caspian Sea up to 750 m, and in the middle part of the Caspian Sea - up to 600 m. shelf, the length of which from the depth to the coastline is 100 m and is covered with shell sands, and in deep water - with silty sediments.

Derbent photo

The coastline of the northern region of the sea is low-lying, quite indented, in some areas it is flat. The western shore of the reservoir is indented and mountainous. In the east, the coasts are distinguished by elevations. The southern coastline is mostly mountainous. The Caspian Sea is located in a zone of high seismicity. Also, mud volcanoes often erupt here, most of which are located in the southern part of the reservoir.

Cities

The following states have access to the waters of the Caspian Sea:

• Russia. A large city is Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan. Also in Dagestan are the cities of Kaspiysk and Izberbash. In addition to the above cities in the Russian Federation on the Caspian Sea, Derbent, the southernmost city of Russia located on the western coast of the Caspian Sea, Olya in the Astrakhan region, should be noted.
• Azerbaijan: The port city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is located in the southern part of the Absheron Peninsula. Another major city is Sugmait, located in the northern part of the peninsula. The resorts of Nabran and Lankaran should also be noted. The latter is located near the southern border of Azerbaijan.
• Turkmenistan with the port city of Turkmenbashi.
• Iran: Bandar-Torkemen, Anzeli, Nowshahr.

Makhachkala photo

Flora and fauna

The entire fauna of the Caspian Sea can be conditionally divided into the following groups:

• The first group consists of descendants of ancient organisms: representatives of herring (shad, Volga, Kessler and Brazhnikovskaya herring); representatives of the Caspian gobies (golovach, pugolovka, Berg, Baer, ​​Knipovich and Bubyr); sprats; a large number of crustaceans; some types of shellfish.
• The second group includes representatives of the fauna that entered the sea from the north in the post-glacial era of desalination of the reservoir: seal; fish species: perch, cyprinids, nelma, white salmon and trout; some representatives of crustaceans: sea cockroaches, mysid crustaceans and others.
• The third group includes species that came to the Caspian from mediterranean sea: the following types of fish: golden mullet, flounder and needle fish; representatives of mollusks; representatives of crustaceans: shrimps, amphipods, crabs.
• The fourth group includes representatives of freshwater fish that entered the Caspian Sea from fresh rivers: stellate sturgeon, beluga, sturgeon, Caspian fish, red-lipped asp, barbel, pike perch, catfish.

sturgeon photo

The water area of ​​the Caspian Sea is the main and main habitat for sturgeon representatives on the entire planet. Almost 80% of all sturgeons in the world live in the sea. Sharks and various predatory fish that carry any danger to humans do not live in this reservoir.

The flora of the Caspian Sea is represented by more than 700 species of lower plants (phytoplankton), as well as 5 species of higher plants (spiral and sea ruppia, comb pondweed, zoster, sea mollusk). Here you can meet various waterfowl. Some of them come here for wintering from the north (waders, loons, gulls, geese, swans, ducks, geese), some come from the south for nesting (eagles).

Characteristic

Let's get acquainted with the main characteristics of the Caspian Sea:

• The length from north to south was approximately 1200 km;
• The width of the basin from west to east is approximately 200-435 km;
• The total area of ​​the Caspian is approximately 390,000 km2;
• The volume of sea waters is 78000 km3.
• Maximum sea ​​depth- about 1025m.
• The salinity of the water is on average up to 13.2%.

Sea level is below the level of the oceans. The north of the Caspian is characterized by a continental climate. The middle Caspian is characterized by a temperate climate. South part The sea is characterized by a subtropical climate. in winter average temperature in the north it changes from 8 to 10 degrees of frost, and in the south from 8 to 10 degrees of heat. In summer, the average temperature in the north is 24-25 degrees above zero, and in the south 26-27 degrees of heat.

Caspian Sea. birds photo

• To this day, scientists are arguing: what status to give the Caspian sea or lake? After all, this reservoir is closed and drainless. At the same time, this reservoir prevails in size over some other seas.
• The bottom at the deepest point is separated from the water surface of the Caspian Sea by a distance of more than a kilometer. In the Caspian, the water level is unstable and tends to decrease.
• This reservoir had about 70 names, which were given to it by different tribes and peoples living on the banks.
• There is a scientific theory that claims that the Caspian and Black Sea, were united into one sea in ancient times.
• The Volga River provides the Caspian with most of the river water.
• Since the Caspian is the main habitat for sturgeon fish on the planet, most of black caviar all over the world.
• The waters of the Caspian reservoir are constantly renewed every 250 years. The name of the reservoir, according to legend, comes from the name of the tribe that lived on its shores.
• The area of ​​the Caspian Sea exceeds the area of ​​Japan and slightly less than the area of ​​Germany.
• If this body of water is considered a lake: it will take the third place in terms of depth in the world, after Baikal and Tanganyika. The Caspian is also the largest lake on the planet.
• The Caspian Sea is very rich in Natural resources. Oil, gas, limestone, salt, clay, stones and sand are mined here.
• Caspian Sea in Lately faced the following environmental problems: Marine pollution. Oil is the main pollutant of the sea, suppressing the development of phytoplankton and phytobenthos. In addition to oil, phenols and heavy metals enter the Caspian. All this leads to a decrease in oxygen production, resulting in the death of a large number of fish and other organisms. Also, pollution leads to disease of living organisms in the sea. Poaching is one of the main reasons for the sharp decline in sturgeon catches. Changes in natural biogeochemical cycles. Construction on the Volga deprives fish representatives of their natural habitats.
• The Caspian Sea is a very important object in the field of shipping and economy. This body of water is absolutely closed and isolated from the oceans. This is the distinctive uniqueness of the Caspian.

The Caspian Sea is simultaneously considered both an endorheic lake and a full-fledged sea. The reasons for this confusion are brackish waters and a marine-like hydrological regime.

The Caspian Sea is located on the border of Asia and Europe. Its area is about 370 thousand km 2, the maximum depth is just over one kilometer. The Caspian has a conditional division into three almost equal parts: Southern (39% of the area), Middle (36%) and Northern (25%).

The sea washes simultaneously Russian, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Turkmen and Iranian shores.

Coast of the Caspian Sea(Caspian) has a length of about 7 thousand kilometers, if you count together with the islands. In the north, the low sea coast is covered with swamps and thickets, and has multiple water channels. The eastern and western coasts of the Caspian have a winding shape, in some places the coasts are covered with limestone.

There are many islands in the Caspian Sea: Dash-Zira, Kyur Dashi, Dzhambaisky, Boyuk-Zira, Gum, Chigil, Khere-Zira, Zenbil, Ogurchinsky, Tyuleniy, Ashur-Ada, etc. Peninsulas: Mangyshlak, Tyub-Karagan, Absheron and Miankale. Their total area is approximately 400 km2.

flows into the Caspian Sea more than a hundred different rivers, the most significant are the Ural, Terek, Volga, Atrek, Emba, Samur. Almost all of them provide the sea with 85-95% of the annual runoff.

The largest bays of the Caspian Sea: Kaydak, Agrakhansky, Kazakh, Dead Kultuk, Turkmenbashi, Mangyshlak, Gyzlar, Girkan, Kaydak.

Climate of the Caspian

The Caspian is located in three climatic zones: subtropical climate in the south, continental in the north and temperate in the middle part. In winter, the average temperature varies from -10 to +10 degrees, while in summer the air warms up to about +25 degrees. During the year falls from 110 mm of precipitation in the east and up to 1500 mm in the west.

The average wind speed is 3–7 m/s, but in autumn and winter it often increases to 35 m/s. The windiest areas are coastal areas Makhachkala, Derbent and the Absheron Peninsula.

Water temperature in the Caspian Sea fluctuates from zero to +10 degrees in winter, and from 23 to 28 degrees in summer months. In some coastal shallow waters, the water can warm up to 35‒40 degrees.

Only the northern part of the sea is subject to freezing, but in especially cold winters, coastal zones middle part. The ice cover appears in November and disappears only in March.

Problems of the Caspian region

Water pollution is one of the main environmental issues Caspian. Oil production, various harmful substances from flowing rivers, waste from nearby cities - all this adversely affects the state of sea ​​water. Additional troubles are created by poachers, whose actions reduce the number of fish of certain species found in the Caspian Sea.

Sea level rise also causes serious financial damage to all the Caspian countries.

According to conservative estimates, the restoration of destroyed buildings and the implementation of comprehensive measures to protect the coast from flooding costs tens of millions of dollars.

Cities and resorts on the Caspian Sea

The largest city and port washed by the waters of the Caspian Sea is Baku. Among other settlements of Azerbaijan, located in close proximity to the sea, are Sumgayit and Lankaran. On the eastern shores is the city of Turkmenbashi, and about ten kilometers from it by the sea is the large Turkmen resort of Avaza.

On the Russian side, the following cities are located on the seashore: Makhachkala, Izberbash, Derbent, Lagan and Kaspiysk. Astrakhan is also often called a port city, although it is located about 65 kilometers from the northern shores of the Caspian Sea.

Astrakhan

Beach holidays in this region are not provided: along the sea coast there are only continuous reed thickets. However, tourists go to Astrakhan not for idle lying on the beach, but for fishing and various types active rest: diving, catamaran, jet skiing, etc. In July and August, excursion boats ply the Caspian.

Dagestan

For a classic seaside vacation, it is better to go to Makhachkala, Kaspiysk or Izberbash - it is there that not only good sandy beaches are located, but also worthy recreation centers. The range of entertainment on the seashore from the Dagestan side is quite wide: swimming, therapeutic mud springs, windsurfing, kiting, rock climbing and paragliding.

The only disadvantage of this direction is the underdeveloped infrastructure.

In addition, among some Russian tourists There is an opinion that Dagestan is far from the most peaceful territory that is part of the North Caucasian Federal District.

Kazakhstan

Much more relaxed atmosphere can be found in the Kazakh resorts of Kuryk, Atyrau and Aktau. The last one is the most popular tourist city Kazakhstan: there are many good entertainment venues and well-maintained beaches. In summer, the temperature here is very high, reaching +40 degrees during the daytime, and dropping only to +30 at night.

Disadvantages of Kazakhstan tourist country- the same poor infrastructure and rudimentary transport connection between regions.

Azerbaijan

Baku, Nabran, Lankaran and other Azerbaijani resorts are considered the best places to relax on the Caspian coast. Fortunately, everything is fine with the infrastructure in this country: for example, several modern comfortable hotels with pools and beaches.

However, in order to enjoy relaxing on the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan, you need to spend a lot of money. In addition, you can get to Baku quickly enough only by plane - trains run rarely, and the journey from Russia itself takes two to three days.

Tourists should not forget that Dagestan and Azerbaijan are Islamic countries, so all "infidels" need to adjust their habitual behavior to local customs.

Subject to simple rules stay, nothing will overshadow your vacation on the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea is notable for the fact that its western coast belongs to Europe, and the eastern one is located on the territory of Asia. This is a huge body of salt water. It is called the sea, but, in fact, it is a lake, as it has no connection with the oceans. Therefore, it can be considered the most large lake in the world.

Square water giant is 371 thousand square meters. km. As for the depth, the northern part of the sea is rather shallow, while the southern part is deep. The average depth is 208 meters, but it does not give any idea of ​​​​the thickness of the water mass. The entire reservoir is divided into three parts. These are the Northern, Middle and Southern Caspian. The northern one is the sea shelf. It accounts for only 1% of the total volume of water. This part ends behind the Kizlyar Bay near the island of Chechen. The average depth in these places is 5-6 meters.

In the Middle Caspian, the seabed is noticeably decreasing, and average depth reaches 190 meters. The maximum is equal to 788 meters. This part of the sea contains 33% of the total volume of water. And the South Caspian is considered to be the deepest one. It absorbs 66% of the total water mass. The maximum depth was noted in the South Caspian depression. She is equal 1025 meters and is considered the official maximum sea depth to date. The Middle and South Caspian are approximately equal in area and occupy a total of 75% of the area of ​​the entire reservoir.

The maximum length is 1030 km and the corresponding width is 435 km. The minimum width is 195 km. The average figure corresponds to 317 km. That is, the reservoir has an impressive size and is rightfully called the sea. The length of the coastline, together with the islands, reaches almost 7 thousand km. As for the water level, it is 28 meters below the level of the World Ocean.

The most interesting thing is that the level of the Caspian Sea is subject to cyclicity. The water goes up and down. Water levels have been measured since 1837. According to experts, over the past thousand years, the level has fluctuated within 15 meters. This is a very big number. And they associate it with geological and anthropogenic (human impact on environment) processes. However, it has been noted that since the beginning of the 21st century, the level of the huge reservoir has been steadily rising.

The Caspian Sea is surrounded by 5 countries. These are Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. Moreover, Kazakhstan has the longest coastline. Russia is in 2nd place. But the length of the coastline of Azerbaijan reaches only 800 km, but in this place is the most major port in the Caspian. This is, of course, Baku. The city is home to 2 million people, and the population of the entire Absheron Peninsula is 2.5 million people.

"Oil Rocks" - a city in the sea
These are 200 platforms with a total length of 350 kilometers

Notable is the settlement of oil workers, which is called " Oil Stones". It is located 42 km east of Absheron in the sea and is a creation of human hands. All residential and industrial buildings are built on metal overpasses. People serve drilling rigs pumping oil from the bowels of the earth. Naturally, there are no permanent residents in this village.

Except Baku along the shores salt water located and others big cities. At the southern tip is the Iranian city of Anzali with a population of 111 thousand people. This is the largest Iranian port in the Caspian. Kazakhstan owns the city of Aktau with a population of 178 thousand people. And in the northern part, directly on the Ural River, is the city of Atyrau. It is inhabited by 183 thousand people.

The Russian city of Astrakhan also has the status of a seaside city, although it is 60 km away from the coast and is located in the delta of the Volga River. This regional center with a population of more than 500 thousand people. Directly on the seashore are such Russian cities like Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Derbent. The latter refers to ancient cities peace. People have been living in this place for more than 5 thousand years.

Many rivers flow into the Caspian Sea. There are about 130 of them. The largest of them are the Volga, Terek, Ural, Kura, Atrek, Emba, Sulak. It is the rivers, and not the precipitation, that feed the huge body of water. They give him up to 95% of water per year. The basin of the reservoir is 3.626 million square meters. km. These are all rivers with their tributaries flowing into the Caspian. The territory is huge, it includes bay Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

This bay is more correctly called a lagoon. It means a shallow body of water, separated from the sea by a sandy spit or reefs. There is such a spit in the Caspian. And the strait through which water flows from the sea is 200 km wide. True, people with their restless and ill-conceived activities almost destroyed Kara-Bogaz-Gol. They blocked off the lagoon with a dam, and its level dropped sharply. But after 12 years, the mistake was corrected and the strait was restored.

The Caspian has always been developed shipping. In the Middle Ages, merchants brought exotic spices and skins of snow leopards from Persia to Rus' by sea. Today, the reservoir connects the cities located on its banks. practiced ferry crossings. There is a water connection with the Black and Baltic Seas through rivers and canals.

Caspian Sea on the map

The reservoir is also important from the point of view fisheries, because sturgeon lives in it in large numbers and gives caviar. But today the number of sturgeons has significantly decreased. Ecologists propose to ban the capture of this valuable fish until the population recovers. But this issue has not yet been resolved. The number of tuna, bream, pike perch also decreased. Here it is necessary to take into account the fact that poaching is highly developed at sea. The reason for this is the difficult economic situation in the region.

And, of course, a few words must be said about oil. The extraction of "black gold" at sea began in 1873. The areas adjacent to Baku have become a real gold mine. There were more than 2 thousand wells here, and oil production and processing was carried out on an industrial scale. At the beginning of the 20th century it was the center of the international oil industry. In 1920, Azerbaijan was occupied by the Bolsheviks. Oil wells and factories were requisitioned. The entire oil industry came under the control of the USSR. In 1941, Azerbaijan supplied 72% of all oil produced in the socialist state.

In 1994, the "Contract of the Century" was signed. It marked the beginning of the international development of the Baku oil fields. The main Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline allows Azerbaijani oil to flow directly to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. It was put into operation in 2006. To date, oil reserves are estimated at 12 trillion. US dollars.

Thus, it is clear that the Caspian Sea is one of the most important economic regions of the world. The political situation in the Caspian region is rather complicated. For a long time there have been debates about maritime borders between Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran. There were many inconsistencies and disagreements, which negatively affected the development of the region.

This ended on August 12, 2018. On this day, the states of the "Caspian Five" signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. This document demarcated the bottom and subsoil, and each of the five countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan) received its share in the Caspian basin. The rules for the implementation of navigation, fishing, scientific research, and the laying of pipelines were also approved. The boundaries of territorial waters received the status of state.

Yuri Syromyatnikov

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest endorheic body of water at a level of 28.5 m below the level of the World Ocean. The Caspian Sea stretches from north to south for almost 1200 km, the average width is 320 km, the length of the coastline is about 7 thousand km. The area of ​​the Caspian Sea as a result of lowering the level decreased from 422 thousand km2 (1929) to 371 thousand km2 (1957). The volume of water is about 76 thousand km3, the average depth is 180 m. The coefficient of indentation of the coast is 3.36. The largest bays: Kizlyar, Komsomolets, Kara-Bogaz-Gol, Krasnovodsk, Mangyshlak.

There are about 50 islands with a total area of ​​350 km2. The most significant of them: Kulaly, Tyuleniy, Chechen, Zhiloy. More than 130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea. The rivers Volga, Ural, Emba, Terek (total annual flow of 88% of the total river flow into the sea) flow into the northern part of the sea. On its western coast, the Sulak, Samur, Kura and other smaller rivers give 7% total runoff. The remaining 5% of the flow is supplied by the rivers of the Iranian coast.

The relief of the bottom of the Caspian Sea

Climate in the Caspian Sea

In the northern and middle parts of the Caspian Sea, from October to April, the winds of the eastern quarter prevail, and from May to September, the winds of the northwestern rhumbs prevail. In the southern part of the Caspian Sea, the monsoon character of the winds is clearly expressed.

The average long-term air temperature of the warm months (July-August) over the entire sea is 24-26°C. The absolute maximum (up to 44°C) is noted on east coast. On average, 200 mm of precipitation falls over the sea per year, with 90-100 mm on the arid eastern coast and 1700 mm in the subtropical southwestern part of the coast. Evaporation in most of the water area is about 1000 mm/year, and in the eastern part of the South Caspian and in the area of ​​the Apsheron Peninsula up to 1400 mm/year.

Hydrological regime

The maximum wave height (11 m) is observed in the area of ​​the Apsheron threshold. The water temperature of the surface layer of the sea in August is about 24-26 ° C in the North and Middle Caspian, up to 29 ° C in the South, 32 ° C in the Krasnovodsk Bay and over 35 ° C in the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. In July-August, upwelling and associated temperature drops to 8-10°C are observed off the eastern shores.

Ice formation in the northern part of the Caspian Sea begins in December, and the ice remains for 2–3 months. In cold winters, drifting ice is carried south to the Absheron Peninsula.
Isolation from the World Ocean, the influx of river waters and the precipitation of salts as a result of intense evaporation in the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay determine the peculiarity of the salt composition of the Caspian Sea water - a reduced content of chlorides and an increased concentration of carbonates in comparison with the waters of the World Ocean. The Caspian Sea is a brackish water basin, the salinity of which is three times less than the normal ocean.

The average salinity of the waters of the northwestern part of the Caspian Sea is 1-2 ppm, in the region of the northern border of the Middle Caspian 12.7-12.8 ppm, and in the South Caspian 13 ppm, the maximum salinity (13.3 ppm) is observed near the eastern shores. In the Gulf of Kara-Bogaz-Gol, salinity is 300 ppm seasonal changes salinity of the waters of the Middle and South Caspian, respectively, 0.17 and 0.21 p.m. In the Northern and Southern Caspian, due to the reduction in inflow and salinization during ice formation, salinity increases in winter. In the South Caspian at this time, salinity decreases due to a decrease in evaporation. In summer, an increase in river flow causes a decrease in the salinity of waters in the North and Middle Caspian, and increasing evaporation leads to an increase in the salinity of the waters of the South Caspian. Changes in salinity from the surface to the bottom are small. Therefore, seasonal fluctuations in temperature and salinity of water, causing an increase in density, determine the winter vertical circulation of water, which in the Northern Caspian extends to the bottom, and in the Middle Caspian to a depth of 300 m. in winter, the waters of the Middle Caspian through the Apsheron threshold and the sliding of cooled waters of high salinity from the eastern shallow water. Studies have shown that due to the increase in water salinity over the past 25 years, the mixing depth has significantly increased, the oxygen content has correspondingly increased, and hydrogen sulfide contamination of deep waters has disappeared.

Tidal fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea do not exceed 3 cm. about 0.7 m. The range of seasonal level fluctuations is about 30 cm. characteristic feature hydrological regime of the Caspian Sea are sharp interannual fluctuations in the average annual level. The average level from zero of the Baku footstock for a century (1830-1930) was 326 cm. The highest level (363 cm) was observed in 1896. cm. In the last decade, the level of the Caspian has stabilized at low levels with interannual fluctuations of the order of ±20 cm. Fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea are associated with climate changes over the entire basin of this sea.

To prevent a further drop in sea level, a system of measures is being developed. There is a project to transfer the waters of the northern rivers Vychegda and Pechora to the Volga river basin, which will increase the flow by about 32 km3. A project was developed (1972) to regulate the flow of Caspian waters into the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay.