Caspian Sea's by shervin19

Fereydun Kenar - Iran The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The ancient inhabitants of its littoral perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. It has a salinity of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of most seawater. The Caspian Sea has been called Gilan (گی -4;ان or دریای گیلان) on ancient maps. In Iran, it is referred to as Dary

Uploaded: Aug, 28 2011 | Taken: Sep, 06 2010| Viewed: 21 times  | 1 vote Camera: FUJIFILM | Model: FinePix Z2 | Exposure 10/3200s, f4.6, ISO 64 | FLength: 6mm | SW: Digital Camera FinePix Z2 Ver1.00

shervin19 - Sep, 03 2011 03:09am Like the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea is a remnant of the ancient Paratethys Sea. The Caspian Sea became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago due to tectonic uplift and a fall in sea level. During warm and dry climatic periods, the landlocked sea has all but dried up, depositing evaporitic sediments like halite that have become covered by wind-blown deposits and were sealed off as an evaporite sink when cool, wet climates refilled the basin. Due to the current inflow of fresh water, the Caspian Sea is a freshwater lake in its northern portions. It is more saline on the Iranian shore, where the catchment basin contributes little flow. Currently, the mean salinity of the Caspian is one third that of the Earth's oceans. shervin19 - Sep, 03 2011 03:09am The Caspian Sea holds great numbers of sturgeon, which yield eggs that are processed into caviar. Overfishing has depleted a number of the historic fisheries including the economic exhaustion of the tuna fishery. In recent years overfishing has threatened the sturgeon population to the point that environmentalists advocate banning sturgeon fishing completely until the population recovers. However, the high price of sturgeon caviar allows fisherman to afford bribes to ensure the authorities look the other way, making regulations in many locations ineffective. Caviar harvesting further endangers the fish stocks, since it targets reproductive females. The Caspian Sea along with the Black Sea is also home to the native Zebra mussel, which has been accidentally introduced and become an invasive species in many countries. The native range of the Common Carp extends to the Caspian Sea as well as the Black Sea and Aral Sea.