Physical
Geography of Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea:
really a sea, or just
a big lake? The Caspian Sea
is the largest inland body of
water on earth, approximately
143,000 square miles (370,886
km2). With its
enormous size, it can
certainly appear to be a sea.
But this "sea" is
completely land locked;
that is, it doesn’t
share a border with a ocean
or have a outlet to the
ocean. Located in
northwest Asia, the sea is
landlocked between Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan.
So by definition it
is a lake. However, the water
that composes the sea is
salty, except in the northern
end of the Caspian Basin
where river tributaries are
mainly located. The central
and southern basins of the
lake contain surface water
with a 12.5 to 13.5 %
salinity. There are no rivers
flowing out of the sea, so
evaporation is the main way
that the lake loses its’
water, which also helps
maintain salinity. The level
of the Caspian sea is
actually 28.3 meters below
ocean level. The deepest part
of the lake is the southern
basin, reaching a maximum
depth of 325 meters.
To the north and
east of the sea lie cold,
continental deserts and
semi-deserts while
mountainous warmer
highland systems are
found to the south.
The Caspian has many
coastal wetland areas that
contain shallow, saline pools
and attract a diverse group
of birds and animals.
Other useful links
to the Caspian Sea region: http://www.caspianstudies.com/links/resource.htm
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/caspian.html
Ecology of the
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is
home to about 130 species of
fish, including the sturgeon,
sometimes referred to as a
living fossil because it was
alive during the time of the
dinosaurs. Besides the
sturgeon, which produces the
eggs for the delicacy caviar,
there are herring (kilka and
shads), carp, perch, mullet
and gobies. Some of
these fish are very rare and
found only in the Caspian
Sea. according to the Caspian
Environment Programme, The
Caspian Sea is situated on
major migratory routes for
many bird species (Dolgushin,
1960-1974; Belik, 1996; Birds
of USSR, 1987, 1988; Fauna of
USSR. Birds, 1961, 1962;
Birds of the Soviet Union,
1952), and it is therefore of
important value for the whole
of Eurasia. The majority of
migratory birds stem from the
Siberian-Asian region. Due to
its unique and diverse
habitats, the Caspian Sea has
become home to many rare
species of flora and fauna.
-
STURGEON:
- quick
facts on sturgeon:
Acipenser
nudiventris Lovetsky,
1828
The ship
Acipenser
persicus Borodin,
1897
Russian or Persian
sturgeon
Acipenser
stellatus Pallas,
1771
Sevruga sturgeon
- Sevruga
caviar was preferred by
Charles de Gaulle.
Huso
huso Linnaeus,
1758
Beluga sturgeon
Beluga caviar was a favorite
of Pablo Picasso, who used to
trade for it with a signed
original sketch.
The
Caspian Sea is very large and
diverse in its ecology, but
is home to only has one
native mammal, the Caspian
Seal
MAMMALS:
Phoca (Pusa)
caspica Gmelin,
1788
Caspian seal
The coastal
flora is chiefly presented with such
families as Asteraceae (70 species),
Chenopodiacea (52 species), Fabacea (40
species). Grass, (86%), semifrutex are
prevailing living forms here.
The coastal
flora is quite variable. There are 957
vegetation species detected
PLANTS:
picture borrowed from:
www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/courses/ bio215/ASTERACEAE.jpg
FABACEA
picture
borrowed from:
www.afftis.or.jp/yamahana/ image/fl093.jpg
OTHER LINKS TO
CASPIAN REGION:
http://medlem.spray.se/davidgorgan/fishes.html#Order_Salmoniformes
http://www.caspianenvironment.org
http:/ / www.evans.washington.edu/ faculty/
cla/ 537_00/ caspian.html
http:/ / www.terra-remote.newmail.r u/
caspii_eng.html
http://www.soros.org/azerbjan/caspisea.html
http://www.erim-int.com/ESG/commerce/imagestore/global/caspiansea.html
http://www.caspianreport.com/
http://www.caspiantimes.com/
http://www.casp.cam.ac.uk/
http://www.caspianjournal.com
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