The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water and is considered as the world’s largest lake. Historically, it has been considered a sea due its size and the saline it embodies many features of a lake. It covers 372,000 square kilometres (without including the lagoon of Garabogazkol to the east). It has a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometres. It is located at the junction of Europe and Asia and is bordered by the Caucasus Mountains to the west and the steppes of Central Asia to the east. Russia lies to its north-west, Azerbaijan to the west, Iran to the south, Turkmenistan to the southeast and Kazakhstan to the northeast.
The Caspian Sea is endorheic, which means it has no natural outlets. According to Natural History Magazine, close to 130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, but none of them are in the east. It’s most important tributary is the Volga River in the north, which provides about 80 per cent of the water that flows into the lake. The Caspian Sea is home to a wide range of species.
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