Caspian Depression

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Caspian Depression

Caspian Depression (Caspian Lowland) is a low-lying

Lowland

In physical geography, a lowland is any broad expanse of land with a general low level. The term is thus applied to the landward portion of the upward slope from oceanic depths to continental highlands, to a region of depression in the interior of a mountainous region, to a plain of denudation, or to any region in contrast to a highland ....
flatland

Flatland

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 in literature science fiction novella by the England schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott.As a satire, Flatland offered pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian era culture....
region encompassing the northern part of the Caspian Sea

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the List of lakes by area or a full-fledged sea. It has a surface area of 371,000 square kilometers and a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers ....
, the largest enclosed body of water

Body of water

A body of water is any significant accumulation of water, usually covering the Earth or another planet. The term body of water most often refers to large accumulations of water, such as oceans, seas, and lakes, but it may also include smaller pools of water such as ponds, puddles or wetlands....
on Earth

Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
.. It is part of the wider Aral-Caspian Depression

Aral-Caspian Depression

The Aral-Caspian Depression is a lowland Depression straddling Europe and Asia around the Aral Sea and Northern Caspian Sea. Its parts belong to Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan....
around the Aral

Aral Sea

The Aral Sea is a landlocked endorheic basin in Central Asia; it lies between Kazakhstan in the north and Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan, in the south....
and Caspian seas. Other translations include Pricaspian/Peri-Caspian Depression/Lowland.

The lowest point of the depression is 28m or 92 feet below sea level. The depression

Depression (geology)

Depression in geology is a landform sunken or depressed below the surrounding area. Depressions may be formed by various mechanisms, and may be referred to by a variety of technical terms....
lies at the southern end of the Ryn Desert

Ryn Desert

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, also Kazakstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a large Eurasian country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the List of countries by area as well as the world's largest landlocked country, it has a territory of 2,727,300 km? ....
and Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
.

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Encyclopedia

Caspian Depression (Caspian Lowland) is a low-lying

Lowland

Flatland

Caspian Sea

Body of water

Earth

Aral-Caspian Depression

Aral Sea

Depression (geology)

Ryn Desert

Kazakhstan

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
. Most of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia

Kalmykia

The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subjects of Russia of the Russian Federation . The direct romanization of Russian of the republic's Russian name is Respublika Kalmykiya, and that of the Kalmyk name is Xal'mg Tanghch....
lies in the Caspian Depression. The Volga River

Volga River

The Volga is the largest river in Europe in terms of length, Discharge , and Drainage basin. It flows through the western part of Russia, and is widely viewed as the national river of Russia....
and the Ural River

Ural River

The Ural , known as Yaik before 1775, is a river flowing through Russia and Kazakhstan. It arises in the southern Ural Mountains and ends at the Caspian Sea....
flow into the Caspian Sea through this region. The deltas of the Ural and Volga Rivers are extensive wetlands.

The North Caspian depression is part of the continental

Continental

Continental is the adjective form of continent. Continental may refer to:*Geography:** Continental climate, a type of climate** Continental Europe, or various terms relating to continental Europe such as continental breakfast and continental lifestyle...
or semi-arid

Semi-arid

A Semi-arid climate or steppe climate generally describes climate regions that receive low annual rainfall . A more precise definition is given by the K?ppen climate classification that treats steppe climates as intermediates between the desert climates and humid climates in ecological characteristics and agricultural potential....
desert biome

Biome

Biomes are Climateally and geographically defined areas of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as Community of plants, animals, and Soil biology, and are often referred to as ecosystems....
. The area receives 30 centimeters (12 in) of rain or less per year, on average, and less than 10% of the region is irrigated. Karagiye

Karagiye

Karagiye is the lowest point in Kazakhstan. Also called the "Karagiye Depression", it lies at approximately 132 meters below sea level, and is the lowest point in the former USSR....
, the lowest point in Kazakhstan, is in the depression, at 132 meters (433 ft) below sea level.

Much of the Caspian Depression is below sea-level, consisting of large areas of marshlands in the eastern region. It is one of the largest flat lowland areas in Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a region of Asia from the Caspian Sea in the west to central China in the east, and from southern Russia in the north to northern India in the south....
, covering approximately 200,000 kilometers² (77,220 miles²). The area is very rich in underground oil and gas reserves, and oil and natural gas pipelines cross the depression from north to south and east to west. Many geologists believe the Caspian Sea and the depression were formed by tectonic forces. Some of them also believe that the North Caspian depression became separated from the open ocean in ancient times to form an enormous salt lake. Part of the ancient Silk Road

Silk Road

The Silk Road is an extensive interconnected network of trade routes across the Asian continent connecting East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe....
ran through this region. The two largest cities in the depression are Astrakhan

Astrakhan

Astrakhan is a major types of inhabited localities in Russia in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea....
in Russia, and Atyrau

Atyrau

Atyrau is a city in Kazakhstan, and the capital of Atyrau Province. It is located 2700 kilometers west of Almaty and 350 kilometers east of the Russian city of Astrakhan....
in Kazakhstan. Today, the region is used mainly for livestock raising.

The depression is also noted for salt dome

Salt dome

A salt dome is a type of Dome formed when a thick bed of evaporite minerals found at depth intrudes vertically into surrounding rock Stratum, forming a diapir....
s, particularly Volgograd salt, whose sizes increase dramatically as one travels from the Ryn Desert

Ryn Desert

The Ryn Desert or Ryn-Peski Desert , is a desert in western Kazakhstan and southeastern Russian republic of Kalmykia, north of the Caspian Sea and southeast of the Volga Upland....
toward the Caspian Sea. Russian satellite photos have revealed huge deposits of salt domes (about 1,200), in the Caspian Depression in western Kazakhstan. One dome, called the Chelkar Deposit, covers an area of 3,237 kilometers² (1,249 miles²) and is nearly 8 kilometers (4.9 miles) deep.

The southern region of the depression, or the north coast of the Caspian Sea, is characterized by large development of damp sites resulting from tidal phenomena. The depression is also home to a large number of insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, with several thousand different species likely living in the region around the Caspian Sea. Studies have shown that water pollution

Water pollution

Water pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater caused by human activities, which can be harmful to organisms and plants that live in these water bodies....
, mostly coming from the Volga River, poses a serious threat to the biodiversity

Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
of the Caspian Depression. Water pollution is contributed mainly by industrial

Industry

An industry is the manufacturing of a Good or Service within a category. Although industry is a broad term for any kind of economic production, in economics and urban planning industry is a synonym for the secondary sector, which is a type of economic activity involved in the manufacturing of raw materials into goods and products....
, agricultural, and household discharges.