The Caspian Sea is the largest inland water body on Earth, but do you know why the Caspian Sea is not a sea but a lake? All the seas of the world connect to the oceans, but lakes do not, and lakes are situated in a closed basin with no natural outlet to it.
According to NASA, the Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world, and it is not a sea, which is spread across an area of 378119.3 km² between Asia and Europe.
Let’s explore the Caspian Sea and know the reason why the Caspian Sea is not a sea but a lake.
Why is the Caspian Sea Not a Sea?
The Caspian Sea is a lake despite its name as a sea, so let's understand why the Caspian Sea is not a sea but a lake.
A sea usually connects to the ocean directly or through straits, so its level of water rises or falls with tides and gets mixed with the ocean.
However, a lake is an inland body of water that is surrounded by land, and the Caspian Sea is landlocked, which is surrounded by countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, with no natural connecting straits or rivers to any oceans.
In the Caspian Sea, the level of water increases or decreases because water evaporates, and 80% of the water source of the Caspian Sea comes through the Volga River, but it has no outlet to go out or connect to another river or seas or oceans.
So, these are all the reasons, despite having the name "Caspian Sea," geographically, it is a lake, which is the largest lake in the world.
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About the Caspian Sea
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It is the largest water body in the world, which is enclosed or bordered by land on all sides.
Location: It is located between Asia and Europe.
The Caspian Sea's name is derived from the ancient Kaspi peoples, who once lived in Transcaucasia to the west.
It is an endorheic basin, which means a drainage basin with no outflow.
Bordering Countries:
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Russia and Azerbaijan on the west
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Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is from north and east
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Iran is to the south
Caspian Sea is not a freshwater lake, but it is brackish, as each litre of its water contains 10-13 grams of salt, making this water unsuitable for drinking or irrigation.
Water Source: 80% of the water source for the Caspian Sea comes from the Volga River. However, other sources are the Ural and the Terek rivers, which empty into the Caspian Sea.
Cities on the Caspian Sea: Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the largest city located on the Caspian Sea. Another important city along the Caspian Sea is Nowshahr, a city of Iran.
Major Islands: Chechen, Tyuleny, Morskoy, Kulaly, Zhiloy, and Ogurchin