Does the Caspian Sea belong to the list of the world. Origin of the Caspian Sea. Where does the Caspian Sea draw water from?

Many geographical names can mislead people who are not fond of geography. Could it be that the object marked on all maps as the sea is in fact a lake? Let's figure it out.

The history of the appearance of the Caspian Sea?

14,000,000 years ago, the Sarmatian Sea existed on the planet. It included modern, Black, Caspian and Azov seas. About 6,000,000 years ago, due to the rise of the Caucasus Mountains and the lowering of the water level in the Mediterranean Sea, it split, forming four different seas.

The Caspian is inhabited by many representatives of the fauna of Azov, which once again confirms that once these reservoirs were one. This is one of the reasons why the Caspian Sea is considered a lake.

The name of the sea comes from the ancient tribes of the Caspians. They inhabited its shores in the first millennia BC and were engaged in horse breeding. But over the long hundreds of years of its existence, this sea has had many names. It was called Derbent, Sarai, Girkan, Sigay, Kukkuz. Even in our time, for the inhabitants of Iran and Azerbaijan, this lake is called Khazar.

Geographic location

Two parts of the world - Europe and Asia, are washed by the waters of the Caspian Sea. The coastline covers the following countries:

Turkmenistan
Russia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan

The length from north to south is about one thousand two hundred kilometers, the width from west to east is about three hundred kilometers. Average depth is about two hundred meters, the greatest depth is about a thousand kilometers. The total area of the reservoir is more than 370,000 square kilometers and is divided into three climatic and geographical zones:

Northern
Average
South Caspian

The water area has six large peninsulas and about fifty islands. Their total area is four hundred square kilometers. Most major islands- Dzhambaysky, Ogurchinsky, Chechen, Tyuleniy, Konevsky, Zyudev and Apsheron Islands. About one hundred and thirty rivers flow into the Caspian, including the Volga, Ural, Atrek, Sefirud, Terek, Kura and many others.

Sea or lake?

The official name used in documentation and cartography is the Caspian Sea. But is this true?

In order to have the right to be called a sea, any body of water must be connected to the oceans. In the case of the Caspian, this is not the reality. From the nearest sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea is separated by almost 500 km of land. This is a completely enclosed reservoir. The main differences of the seas:

The seas can be fed by water arteries - rivers.
The outer seas are directly connected with the ocean, that is, they have access to it.
The inland seas are connected to other seas or oceans by straits.

The Caspian received the right to be called a sea primarily because of its impressive size, which is more characteristic of seas rather than lakes. In terms of area, it surpasses even Azov. Also, the fact that not a single lake washes the shores of five states at once played a significant role.

It should be noted that the structure of the bottom of the Caspian Sea belongs to the oceanic type. This happened due to the fact that it was once part of the ancient oceans.

Compared to other seas, the percentage of salt saturation in it is very weak and does not exceed 0.05%. The Caspian is fed only by rivers flowing into it, like all lakes on the globe.

Like many seas, the Caspian is famous for its powerful storms. The height of the waves can reach eleven meters. Storms can occur at any time of the year, but they are most dangerous in autumn and winter.

In fact, the Caspian Sea is the most big lake in the world. Its waters are not subject to international maritime laws. The territory of the waters is divided between countries on the basis of laws adopted for lakes, and not for seas.

The Caspian Sea has rich mineral resources such as oil and gas. Its waters are inhabited by more than one hundred and twenty species of fish. Among them are the most valuable sturgeons, such as stellate sturgeon, sturgeon, sterlet, beluga, and spike. 90% of the world's sturgeon catch goes to the Caspian Sea.

Interesting features:

Scientists around the world have not come to an unambiguous opinion why the Caspian Sea is considered a lake. Some experts even suggest considering it a "lake-sea" or "inland" sea, like the Dead Sea in Israel;
The deepest point of the Caspian is more than one kilometer;
Historically, it is known that the general water level in the reservoir has changed more than once. The exact reasons for this are still not understood;
This is the only body of water separating Asia and Europe;
The largest waterway that feeds the lake is the Volga River. It is she who carries the bulk of the water;
Thousands of years ago the Caspian Sea was part of the Black Sea;
In terms of the number of fish species, the Caspian Sea loses to some rivers;
The Caspian Sea is the main supplier of the most expensive delicacy - black caviar;
The water in the lake is completely renewed every two hundred and fifty years;
Territory of Japan less area the Caspian Sea.

Ecological situation

Intervention in the ecology of the Caspian Sea regularly occurs due to the extraction of oil and natural resources. There are also interventions in the fauna of the reservoir, cases of poaching and illegal catching of valuable species of fish are frequent.

The water level in the Caspian Sea is falling every year. This is due to global warming, due to the influence of which the water temperature on the surface of the reservoir increased by one degree and the sea began to actively evaporate.

It is estimated that the water level has fallen by seven centimeters since 1996. By 2015, the fall was about one and a half meters, and the water continues to fall.

If this continues, in a century the smallest part of the lake may simply disappear. This will be the part that washes the borders of Russia and Kazakhstan. In the case of increased global warming, the process can accelerate and this will happen much earlier.

It is known that long before the onset of global warming, the water level in the Caspian was undergoing changes. The water stayed and then fell. Scientists still cannot say exactly why this happened.

Where Europe converges with Asia, there is one of the unique reservoirs, which is officially called the sea, and unofficially - the lake - the Caspian Sea, washing the shores of several countries at once with its waters. , or rather, its northeastern part, goes just to Caspian coast. What mysteries does the Caspian hold, how big a role does it play in the life of the country, and what benefits can people bring to the sea itself?

Geography of the Caspian Sea

Researchers are still arguing what the Caspian Sea is - a lake or a sea. The fact is that this reservoir is the largest of all drainless. These are called those that have no connection with the oceans.

All rivers of the Caspian Sea originate on land, but do not reach ocean shores. Thus, it is closed and may well be called a lake. However, the Caspian is quite large, moreover, its bottom is the earth's crust, which belongs to the oceanic type. This indicates that the sea appeared here millions of years ago.

The fact that once on the planet, or rather, on the territory where Europe and Asia are located today, the huge prehistoric Sarmatian Sea splashed - this is the name given to it by scientists. This was 12 million years ago. Water covered the entire space of the present land.

The Caucasus and the Crimea were islands in this incredibly large sea. However, it gradually desalinated and dried up due to the slow rise of the land. As a result, on the site of the Sarmatian Sea, peculiar "puddles" were formed - the Caspian, Black, Aral, Azov Seas.

Find today the Caspian Sea on geographical map simple enough. It is located in the region of Asia Minor and is separated from the Black Sea by the Caucasus, which acts as a kind of isthmus between these two reservoirs. It has an elongated shape from north to south. Its coordinates are 36°34"–47°13" north latitude and 46°–56° east longitude. Modern borders are the coasts of five states:

Russia.
Azerbaijan.
Turkmenistan.
Kazakhstan.
Iran.

Geographers divide the territory of the sea into the North, Middle and South Caspian, and the southern part of it occupies about 40% of the area, and the northern part is only 25%. There are also limits to these divisions. So, the Middle Caspian is separated from the North by a conditional line drawn from Cape Tyub-Karagan to the island of Chechen. And the border between the South and the Middle passes through Cape Gan-Gul and Chilov Island.

Area and depth

Many are interested in what is the area of the Caspian Sea, but these parameters change periodically. It all depends on seasonal fluctuations in depth. So, if the water level in the sea is about 27 meters, the reservoir can reach over 370 thousand square kilometers. During these periods, it becomes full-flowing, and holds almost 45% of the total volume of fresh lake water on the planet.

The Caspian Sea is heterogeneous in terms of depth parameters. So, the shallowest part is the northern one, its average depth does not exceed 4 meters, and the maximum is 25 meters. The southern part is the deepest, in the region of the South Caspian depression it is 1025 meters. In general, the researchers found that the average depth of the reservoir is 208 meters according to the bathygraphic curve.

Caspian lake ranks third in depth after lakes Baikal and Tanganyika. As for sea level, it fluctuates significantly. Scientific measurements of the reservoir began in 1837. Scientists based on historical documents And archaeological research argue that the highest water level was observed at the turn of the XIII-XIV centuries, then the decline began.

For three thousand years of our civilization, the water level in the Caspian has changed by 15 meters. The reasons may be very different. First of all, these are geological changes in the state of the earth's crust, as well as climate fluctuations in a given region and human actions.

Temperature and climate

Since today not only industrial enterprises, but also resorts are located in the Caspian basin, the temperature of the Caspian Sea is of great interest to many. This indicator is also subject to seasonal changes, and they are very significant.

In winter, the difference in temperature fluctuations is observed within 10 degrees. In the southern part of the reservoir, water in winter time year has an average temperature of 11 degrees, while in the northern part of the sea this temperature is no more than 0.5 degrees, and sometimes even a slight glaciation is observed. Northern regions, as the most shallow ones, warm up faster in summer and can reach up to 26 degrees. At the same time, the water temperature in the western part of the reservoir is permanently higher than in the eastern part.

The summer period, which lasts from June to September, makes the temperature indicators the most uniform throughout the sea. At this time, in the upper layers, the water warms up to 26 degrees, and in the southern part it can increase up to 28 degrees. TO velvet season in shallow areas, the water can warm up even more and reaches 32 degrees.

In addition, in summer there is such a phenomenon as the rise of deep water layers to the surface. This is the so-called upwelling, however, scientists observe it not throughout the entire water area, but mainly only in the east, sometimes deep waters also rise in the southern part of the reservoir. As a result, the average water temperature can be understood by 10 degrees.

As in other marine water bodies, the water in the Caspian Sea is salty. However, the level of salt saturation may vary depending on its individual areas. The salt concentration is highest in the western and southern parts of the reservoir. In the northern regions, sea water is constantly diluted with fresh water from rivers. However, throughout the sea, the salt concentration varies depending on the season of the year.

In addition, the reason that the water becomes saltier or fresher is the winds. For example, in the South and Middle Caspian, these fluctuations are weakly expressed, in contrast to the North.

The climate of this maritime region also varies. The southern part of the sea is in a subtropical climate, the middle part is temperate, and the northern part is continental. As a result, the air temperature on the coast is different.

It is worth noting that it is hottest in the south and southeast of the reservoir. Here, the temperature can sometimes reach up to 44 degrees in summer, and the average temperature is 26-27 degrees. The north of the reservoir in the summer also cannot complain about the cold - up to 25 degrees of air temperature is recorded here. As for winter, the air temperature in the north can reach -10 degrees, and in the south - up to +10 degrees.

Pool features

There is no need to assume that the Caspian is just a closed body of water, bounded by shores. On the map, the sea has fairly even shores, but in fact its borders are indented by small capes and peninsulas, as well as channels and estuaries. The coastline is about 7 thousand kilometers (including the islands).

The coast of the lake in its northern part looks low, there is some waterlogging due to the presence of many channels. from the east Caspian coast- these are mainly limestones, and the territories smoothly turn into semi-desert lands. The sinuosity of the coastal edges is highest in the east and west.

Any large body of water cannot do without islands, and the Caspian is no exception. The islands of the Caspian Sea are diverse, their total number is almost 50 islands of various sizes. The largest ones include:

Boyuk-Zira;
Seals;
Chechen;
Ashur-Ada;
Ogurchinsky;
Kur-Dashi;

The coast of the Caspian Sea is also rich in peninsulas, among which are Mangyshlak, Apsheron, Tyub-Karagan. Finally, the geography of the Caspian includes many large and small bays. The most famous of them are:

Kizlyarsky;
Kara-Bogaz-Gol;
Mangyshlak;
Gyzylagach;
Turkmenbashi;
Astrakhan (Astrakhan);
Hyrcanus.

Of these bays, one can especially distinguish Kara-Bogaz-Gol, which is located in the eastern part of the sea and today belongs to Turkmenistan. Until the end of the 20th century, it was a kind of Caspian lagoon, which connected with the big water» Strait. In the 1980s, back in the days of the USSR, a dam was first built here, and then a dam, as a result of which the water level in the bay was lowered.

To date, the situation has returned to the starting point, since the strait was able to restore. Water enters the bay in the amount of 10-17 cubic kilometers annually. However, due to the hot climate, it evaporates, so the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay is extremely salty.

The Caspian Sea, like other similar water bodies, has a rich flora and fauna. A variety of algae predominate here, and researchers believe that most of Caspian is of local origin. However, it is also possible that some algae were brought here artificially - for example, on the bottoms of merchant ships from other seas.

The Caspian is quite diverse. There are over 100 types of fish. It is here that the famous sturgeon and other fish of the same family are found. Basically, the fish of the Caspian are those that live in fresh or low-salt waters: pike, carp, salmon, mullet, perch, carp, some of which are listed in. You can meet seals in the sea.

Development of waters and seabed

Who among us does not remember the famous phrase from geography textbooks: "The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea." This river is the largest of those whose mouth is the Caspian. Every year it delivers up to 224 cubic kilometers of fresh water to the sea. But there are other, smaller ones that also rush to here. In addition to the Volga, these are:

Terek.
Ural.
Samur.
Sulak.

These rivers flow through the territory of Russia, and in addition to them, the waters of the rivers Atrek (Turkmenistan), Kura (), Sefidrud (Iran), Emba (Kazakhstan) flow into the Caspian. In total, out of 130 various rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, the mouths of nine water streams are formed in the form of a delta.

The development of the lake took place over many centuries. Today, the ports of the Caspian Sea connect the shores of the reservoir with trade routes. Of the Russian ports, the most important are Makhachkala and Astrakhan, from which ships are constantly sent to Kazakh Aktau, Azerbaijani Baku and other coastal shores of the Caspian Sea. In addition, it is connected with the Sea of Azov, where they get through the Don and Volga rivers, as well as through the Volga-Don Canal.

Oil production is an important direction in the economic development of the Caspian basin and the sea area itself. The oil resources of the sea currently amount to approximately 10 billion tons - these are the estimates given by the researchers. If we add gas condensate to this, then the reserves will double.

Oil production is the most important sector of the economy of the countries of the Caspian region, therefore, for many years, disagreements regarding the use of the resources of the sea have not been resolved. During the existence of the USSR, the territory of the Caspian Sea belonged to the Soviet Union and Iran.

Are still operating legal documents on the division of the reservoir and the use of its shelf, which were concluded between Iran and the USSR. At the same time, disputes regarding the legal division of territories do not stop. So, Iran proposes to divide equally between the five countries, and three former Soviet republics insist that the reservoir be divided along the median line of demarcation.

This issue remains very serious, because depending on where the sea should be divided, not only the volume of oil production for each Caspian state depends, but also the use of other resources of the reservoir. Here we can talk, first of all, about fisheries, because the sea is very generous with fish stocks.

They get not only fish, but also the famous caviar, as well as a seal. However, the reproduction of fish stock today would be much more efficient if it were not for the poachers of the Caspian Sea, who organize illegal sturgeon catching and illegally harvest caviar.

At the same time, they exist in almost all the Caspian countries, so that the fight against them is common for the neighboring countries of the Caspian basin. As a result, sturgeon exports to last years limited, since both Russia and other countries of the Caspian are interested in maintaining this natural wealth region.

Poaching is a serious problem, and today Russia, together with Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, are developing measures aimed at legally limiting illegal fishing.

However, there is another big problem of the Caspian Sea - the pollution of sea waters. The reason is oil production, as well as the transportation of oil by sea. Do not forget that big cities located on the banks of the reservoir are a constant source of pollution of the water area. In addition, industrial enterprises, despite strict prohibitions, sometimes still dump waste into rivers, which then end up in the sea.

Environmental violations lead not only to general pollution Caspian waters, but also to a change in the boundaries of the reservoir itself (bogging, drying, and so on). But what is the significance of the Caspian Sea for the entire region, it is not even worth talking about.

Rest in the resorts of the Caspian Sea

In order to understand what human civilization can lose by losing the Caspian Sea, you can look at its photo. This reservoir is an amazing place for good rest, and seascapes invariably impress everyone who comes here. A vacation spent on the Caspian Sea turns out to be no worse than on Black Sea coast. Fresh air, mild climate and comfortable beaches - that's what it can give tourists.

If you decide to go to the Caspian Sea, the prices for holidays will pleasantly surprise you. Tourism is valued in many ways precisely because it turns out to be inexpensive compared to what awaits tourists traveling to resorts in other regions of the planet. Residents of Russia can relax quite cheaply within their own country and at the same time receive excellent service that does not differ in level from the Mediterranean.

There are several resorts in Russian cities(most of which are in), which are especially popular with tourists. This:

Astrakhan;
Dagestan Lights;
Kaspiysk;
Izberbash;
Lagan.

If tourists go to Derbent, first of all, to see its ancient sights, and to Astrakhan - to enjoy fishing, then the places for recreation in Makhachkala are among the most comfortable and comfortable beaches of the Caspian Sea.

This resort attracts not only with comfortable rest, but also with the opportunity to improve health, because there are thermal and mineral springs here. From foreign resorts we can note the Kazakh Aktau, the Azerbaijani Sumgayit and the Turkmen Avaza recreation area.

Today the Caspian is one of the most important world regions in economic terms. Without it, it is impossible to imagine modern Eurasia and, moreover, the history of Russia. This means that the state of this reservoir should be protected by the state.

November 29th, 2015

Is it correct to call the Caspian a 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 the 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 inland waters- 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 terms of its geographical position, 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 Turkmanchai (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 keep 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 of the new Russian government that came to power on January 14, 1918, 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). Treaty of 1921 maritime border between the parties did not provide.

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 for its participants to conduct this fishery. 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. This was due to concern 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 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 ships of only these two Caspian states. It also included a provision for its indefinite validity.

The collapse of the Soviet Union radically changed the regional situation in the former Soviet space, in particular in the Caspian region. Among a large number new problems arose and the problem of the Caspian Sea. 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 USSR rather than 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 has traditionally and long been widely used for navigation, acting as a kind of transport artery between the peoples of the coastal states. Along its banks 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 lay claim within the boundaries that should be determined by them collectively on the basis of international law. And to do this, they will have to divide between themselves both the Caspian Sea and its bottom, in the depths of which its oil and gas are hidden, and develop rules for their extraction with minimal damage to a very fragile environment, especially 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 Sea, have already begun active production of its oil, in the hope of ceasing to be dependent on Russia, turning their countries into oil producers and, in this capacity, begin to build their own long-term trading 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 in 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 position 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 sharing 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 government of the country believes that this status implies the creation of a consortium for the unified management of the extraction and use of its resources. littoral states. Some authors also share 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 is assumed the joint development by states of their own rules for the use of its resources.

Thus, the recognition of the Caspian Sea 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 (Ashgabat summit on April 23-24, 2002, the Tehran summit on October 16, 2007, the Baku summit on November 18, 2010 and Astrakhan on September 29, 2014), the consent of the Caspian countries it has not been possible to achieve.

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 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 sea bottom between adjacent and opposite sides along a modified median line was announced on the basis of the principle of justice and agreement 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, stands for 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 have 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 wanting to build a long-term policy with neighbors who 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 a new stage of 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 Sea. Its main principle was the position "the water is common - we divide the bottom."

Taking into account the fact that some of the Caspian states, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia, have reached agreements on the conditional delimitation of spaces in the Caspian, it can be concluded that they are actually satisfied with the already established regime with the division of its bottom along a modified median line and the joint use of the surface 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 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, North, and even exceeds the area of Azov and some others (however, the Canadian Lake Superior also has a huge area , like the three Seas of Azov). In the Caspian, fierce storm winds and huge waves are frequent (and this is not uncommon in Baikal).

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 terms of its geographical position, 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 the concern of the 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.

The collapse of the 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.

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.

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 there is no norm in international law 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.

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.

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.

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 signing of the "Deal of the Century" in September 1994, Baku expressed a desire to declare the sector adjacent to it an integral part of 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.

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 a new stage of negotiations, after which, in 1998, the above Agreement was signed, where Russia declared that it was “ripe” for the division of the Caspian Sea. 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.

The Caspian Lake is one of the most unique places on the ground. It keeps many secrets connected with the history of the development of our planet.

Position on the physical map

The Caspian is an internal drainless salt lake. The geographical position of the Caspian Lake is the continent of Eurasia at the junction of parts of the world (Europe and Asia).

The length of the lakeshore line is from 6500 km to 6700 km. Taking into account the islands, the length increases to 7000 km.

The coastal areas of the Caspian Lake are mostly low-lying. Their northern part is indented by the channels of the Volga and the Urals. The river delta is rich in islands. The surface of the water in these areas is covered with thickets. Swampiness of large areas of land is noted.

The eastern coast of the Caspian adjoins to the lake. There are significant limestone deposits on the shores of the lake. For western and part east coast characteristic curved coastline.

The Caspian lake on the map is represented by a significant size. The entire territory adjacent to it was called the Caspian Sea.

Some characteristics

The Caspian Lake in terms of its area and the volume of water in it has no equal on Earth. It stretches from north to south for 1049 kilometers, and its longest length from west to east is 435 kilometers.

If we take into account the depth of reservoirs, their area and volume of water, then the lake is commensurate with the Yellow, Baltic and Black Seas. By the same parameters, the Caspian surpasses the Tyrrhenian, Aegean, Adriatic and other seas.

The volume of water available in the Caspian Lake is 44% of the reserve of all lake waters of the planet.

Lake or sea?

Why is the Caspian lake called the sea? Is it really the impressive size of the reservoir that caused the assignment of such a “status”? More precisely, this was one of those reasons.

Others include a huge mass of water in the lake, the presence of a large wave during storm winds. All this is typical for real seas. It becomes clear why the Caspian Lake is called the sea.

But here one of the main conditions is not named, which must necessarily exist so that geographers can classify a reservoir as a sea. We are talking about the direct connection of the lake with the oceans. Exactly this condition The Caspian does not match.

Where the Caspian Lake is located, a deepening in the earth's crust was formed several tens of thousands of years ago. Today it is filled with the waters of the Caspian Sea. According to scientists, at the end of the 20th century, the water level in the Caspian Sea was 28 meters below the level of the World Ocean. direct connection the waters of the lake and the ocean ceased to exist approximately 6 millennia ago. The conclusion from the above is that the Caspian Sea is a lake.

There is another feature that distinguishes the Caspian Sea from the sea - the salinity of the water in it is almost 3 times lower than the salinity of the World Ocean. The explanation for this is that about 130 large and small rivers carry fresh water to the Caspian Sea. The Volga makes the most significant contribution to this work - it is she who “gives” up to 80% of all water to the lake.

The river played another important role in the life of the Caspian Sea. It is she who will help find the answer to the question of why the Caspian Lake is called the sea. Now that many channels have been built by man, it has become a fact that the Volga connects the lake with the oceans.

The history of the lake

modern look and geographical position The Caspian lake is caused by continuous processes occurring on the surface of the Earth and in its bowels. There were times when the Caspian was connected with the Sea of Azov, and through it with the Mediterranean and Black. That is, tens of thousands of years ago, the Caspian Lake was part of the World Ocean.

As a result of the processes associated with the uplift and lowering of the earth's crust, mountains appeared on the site of the modern Caucasus. They isolated a body of water that was part of a vast ancient ocean. More than one tens of thousands of years passed before the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas separated. But for a long time, the connection between their waters was carried out through the strait, which was on the site of the Kumo-Manych depression.

Periodically, the narrow strait was either drained or refilled with water. This was due to fluctuations in the level of the oceans and changes in the appearance of the land.

In a word, the origin of the Caspian Lake is closely connected with common history formation of the earth's surface.

Own modern name the lake received because of the tribes of the Caspians, who inhabited the eastern parts of the Caucasus and the steppe zones of the Caspian territories. Over the entire history of its existence, the lake had 70 different names.

Territorial division of the lake-sea

The depth of the Caspian Lake in its different places is very different. Based on this, the entire water area of the lake-sea was conditionally divided into three parts: the Northern Caspian, the Middle and the Southern.

Shallow is Northern part lakes. The average depth of these places is 4.4 meters. The highest indicator is a mark of 27 meters. And on 20% of the entire area of the Northern Caspian, the depth is only about a meter. It is clear that this part of the lake is of little use for navigation.

The Middle Caspian has greatest depth at 788 meters. The deep part occupies lakes. The average depth here is 345 meters, and the greatest is 1026 meters.

Seasonal changes at sea

Due to the large length of the reservoir from north to south, the climatic conditions on the coast of the lake are not the same. It also depends on seasonal changes in areas adjacent to water bodies.

In winter south coast lakes in Iran, the water temperature does not fall below 13 degrees. During the same period, in the northern part of the lake off the coast of Russia, the water temperature does not exceed 0 degrees. The Northern Caspian is covered with ice during 2-3 months of the year.

In summer, almost everywhere the Caspian Lake warms up to 25-30 degrees. warm water, excellent sandy beaches, sunny weather create excellent conditions for people to relax.

Caspian on the political map of the world

Five states are located on the shores of the Caspian Lake - Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

The territories of Russia belong western regions North and Middle Caspian. Iran is located on southern shores sea, he owns 15% of the entire length of the coastline. The eastern coastline is shared by Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Azerbaijan is located in the southwestern territories of the Caspian Sea.

The issue of dividing the water area of the lake between the Caspian states has been the most acute for many years. The heads of the five states are trying to find a solution that would satisfy the needs and requirements of everyone.

The natural wealth of the lake

Caspian from ancient times for local residents served as a waterway.

The lake is famous for its valuable species of fish, in particular sturgeon. Their reserves account for up to 80% of the world's resources. The issue of conservation of the sturgeon population has international importance, it is decided at the level of the government of the Caspian states.

The Caspian seal is another mystery of the unique sea-lake. Scientists have not yet fully unraveled the mystery of the appearance of this animal in the waters of the Caspian Sea, as well as other species of animals of northern latitudes.

In total, 1809 species of various groups of animals live in the Caspian Sea. There are 728 species of plants. Most of them are the "indigenous inhabitants" of the lake. But there is a small group of plants that were deliberately brought here by man.

Of the minerals, the main wealth of the Caspian is oil and gas. Some information sources compare the oil reserves of the Caspian Lake fields with Kuwait. Industrial marine mining of black gold has been carried out on the lake since the end of the 19th century. The first well appeared on the Apsheron shelf in 1820.

Today, the governments unanimously believe that the region cannot be considered only as a source of oil and gas, while leaving the Caspian ecology unattended.

In addition to oil fields, there are deposits of salt, stone, limestone, clay and sand on the territory of the Caspian Sea. Their extraction also could not but affect the ecological situation of the region.

Sea level fluctuations

The water level in the Caspian Lake is not constant. This is evidenced by evidence relating to the IV century BC. The ancient Greeks, who explored the sea, discovered a large bay at the confluence of the Volga. The existence of a shallow strait between the Caspian and the Sea of Azov was also discovered by them.

There are other data on the water level in the Caspian Lake. The facts show that the level was much lower than it is now. Ancient evidence is architectural structures found on seabed. The buildings date back to the 7th-13th centuries. Now the depth of their flooding is from 2 to 7 meters.

In 1930, the water level in the lake began to decline catastrophically. The process went on for almost fifty years. This caused great concern among people, since all the economic activities of the Caspian region are adapted to the previously established water level.

Since 1978 the level has started to rise again. Today it has become more than 2 meters taller. This is also an undesirable phenomenon for people living on the coast of the lake-sea.

Climate change is said to be the main reason for fluctuations in the lake. This results in an increase in volume river waters entering the Caspian Sea, the amount of precipitation, reducing the intensity of water evaporation.

However, it cannot be said that this is the only opinion that explains the fluctuations in the water level in the Caspian Lake. There are others, no less plausible.

Human activities and environmental issues

The area of the catchment basin of the Caspian Lake is 10 times larger than the surface of the water area of the reservoir itself. Therefore, all the changes taking place in such a vast territory in one way or another affect the ecology of the Caspian Sea.

Human activity plays an important role in changing the ecological situation in the area of the Caspian Lake. For example, pollution of a reservoir with harmful and hazardous substances occurs along with the influx of fresh water. It is directly related to industrial production, mining and other economic activity people in the watershed.

The state of the environment of the Caspian Sea and adjacent territories is of general concern to the governments of the countries located here. Therefore, the discussion of measures aimed at preserving the unique lake, its flora and fauna, has become traditional.

Each state has an understanding that only through joint efforts can the ecology of the Caspian Sea be improved.