Facts about the Caspian Sea

1. 07

   Seventy percent of the Caspian Sea's water comes from the Volga River, which supplies approximately 23,000 cubic kilometers annually to this enclosed basin.

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2. 06

   Saltier than the ocean, the Caspian Sea contains approximately 78 million tons of dissolved salt, making its water composition unique among the world's largest inland seas.

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3. 05

   Stretching 1,025 meters below the surface, the Caspian Sea's deepest point near Azerbaijan makes it deeper than the entire height of Mount Elbrus.

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4. 04

   Endemic to the Caspian Sea, the critically endangered Caspian seal population has declined from approximately 400,000 in the 1950s to fewer than 100,000 today.

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5. 03

   Five nations border the Caspian Sea: Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Iran, making it a strategically important geopolitical zone.

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6. 02

   At 1,199 kilometers long and 435 kilometers wide, the Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water by surface area.

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7. 01

   Approximately 371 million tons of oil reserves lie beneath the Caspian Sea, making it one of the world's largest untapped energy sources.

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