The Caspian Sea, its history and features

The Caspian Sea is one of the largest lakes in the world and is hardly inferior in size to the Black Sea. Six thousand kilometers of its coastline is located on the territory of Russia, the remaining one thousand kilometers divide among themselves the five Asian republics. The peculiarity of the Caspian Sea lies in the fact that, despite its impressive size (the water surface area is 371 sq. Km), it can not be considered fully to the sea, since it has no outlets to any ocean. The depth of the Caspian Sea varies depending on the relief of the seabed. The deepest part of it is the southern part, the thickness of the water in these places reaches 1025 meters.

And now a little history.

For the first time the Caspian Sea is mentioned in the works of ancient Roman and Greek scientists. Two thousand years BC. The southeastern and central part of present-day Transcaucasia was inhabited by the Caspian tribes, from which, in fact, the name of the lake-sea began. In the first millennium BC. E. The adjoining lands were shaken by numerous inter-tribal wars, as a result of which caspias were driven out from their habitual territory to the very coast of the sea. It was at that time that it got the name Caspian. The history of the ancient people ends with the arrival on the shores of the Caspian Sea of Caucasian Alban tribes in the 2nd century BC. Today, about an ancient civilization, virtually no reliable data have been preserved. Somewhat later, the northern shores of the lake-sea were inhabited by nomadic peoples, in particular, the Khazars, who were at odds with the Russian princes. Their main city Itil was located at the mouth of the Volga River. Not the least role the Caspian Sea played in the foreign economic and trade policy of Ancient Rus. Through it, the most important trade routes and exits to Uzbekistan, the Baltic and Black Seas were located. For many centuries of the existence of human civilization on the shores of the sea, it has changed its name more than once. The Caspian Sea was called Khazar, Khvalyn, Hyrkan.

The first definition of the Caspian Sea as a reservoir isolated from all oceans is given in its works by the Greek historian Herodotus. Living for a century later, Aristotle continued the work of the scientist and only confirmed his conclusion. The study of the Caspian Sea is associated with the names of many famous scientists and famous travelers. Once on its shores, the Greek astronomer Ptolemy visited, the Italian Marco Polo, the Russian officer of the times of Peter the Great, Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky.

The location of the Caspian Sea is of particular interest to geographers. At its many kilometers length (about 1 thousand km) from the south to the north a wide variety of climatic conditions is observed. The northern part of the sea is characterized by a temperate continental climate. In winter, there is a significant decrease in temperature and heavy snowfall. The climate of its southern part differs little from the Mediterranean subtropical. Summer in these places is dry and hot, winter is wet and mild.

The main feature of the flora and fauna of the Caspian Sea is the abundance of plankton. During periods of particularly rapid reproduction of algae, the surface of the water literally blooms with a yellow-green color. The coastal shoal becomes a real thicket. The magnificent nature of the Caspian coast attracts tourists every year. Rest on the Caspian is usually preferred by people who want to relax away from the big noisy megacities. The most popular resorts are the Russian cities of Derbent, Makhachkala, Astrakhan, Kazakh Aktau, the Azerbaijani capital of Baku. Russian citizens, as a rule, choose rest in the Caucasus, combining not only visiting beaches and bathing in the sea, but treatment in numerous sanatoria, a trip to the main interesting places of the region, national parks and reserves.