Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the most big lake on Earth, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, called the sea because of its size. The Caspian Sea is closed lake, and the water in it is salty, from 0.05% near the mouth of the Volga to 11-13% in the southeast. The water level is subject to fluctuations, currently - about 28 m below the level of the World Ocean. The area of the Caspian Sea is currently about 371,000 sq km, the maximum depth is 1025 m.
The length of the coastline of the Caspian Sea is estimated at about 6,500 - 6,700 kilometers, with islands up to 7,000 kilometers. The shores of the Caspian Sea in most of its territory are low and smooth. In the northern part, the coastline is cut by water channels and islands of the Volga and Ural deltas, the shores are low and swampy, and the water surface is covered with thickets in many places. The eastern coast is dominated by limestone shores adjacent to semi-deserts and deserts. The most winding shores are on the western coast in the area of the Absheron Peninsula and on the eastern coast in the area of the Kazakh Bay and Kara-Bogaz-Gol.
130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, 9 of which have delta-shaped estuaries. Large rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea are the Volga, Terek (Russia), Ural, Emba (Kazakhstan), Kura (Azerbaijan), Samur (Russian border with Azerbaijan), Atrek (Turkmenistan) and others.
The Caspian Sea washes the shores of five coastal states:
Russia (Dagestan, Kalmykia and Astrakhan region) - in the west and north-west, the length of the coastline is 695 kilometers of Kazakhstan - in the north, north-east and east, the length of the coastline is 2320 kilometers of Turkmenistan - in the southeast, the length of the coastline is 1200 kilometers of Iran - in the south, the length of the coastline - 724 kilometers of Azerbaijan - in the south-west, the length of the coastline is 955 kilometers
Water temperature
It is subject to significant latitudinal changes, most pronounced in winter, when the temperature varies from 0 - 0.5 ° C at the ice edge in the north of the sea to 10 - 11 ° C in the south, that is, the difference in water temperature is about 10 ° C. For shallow areas with depths less than 25 m, the annual amplitude can reach 25 - 26 ° C. On average, the water temperature is west coast 1 - 2 ° C higher than in the east, and in the open sea the water temperature is 2 - 4 ° C higher than near the coasts.
The climate of the Caspian Sea is continental in the northern part, temperate in the middle and subtropical in the southern part. In winter average monthly temperature The Caspian Sea varies from −8 × 10 in the northern part to +8 - +10 in the southern part, in summer - from +24 - +25 in the northern part to +26 - +27 in the southern part. The maximum temperature recorded on the east coast is 44 degrees.
Animal world
The fauna of the Caspian Sea is represented by 1809 species, of which 415 are vertebrates. In the Caspian Sea, 101 species of fish are registered, and most of the world's stocks of sturgeon, as well as freshwater fish such as roach, carp, and pike perch, are concentrated in the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea is a habitat for such fish as carp, mullet, sprat, kutum, bream, salmon, perch, pike. The Caspian Sea is also home to a marine mammal - the Caspian seal.
Vegetable world
The flora of the Caspian Sea and its coast is represented by 728 species. Of the plants in the Caspian Sea, algae predominate - blue-green, diatoms, red, brown, charovy and others, and of flowering plants - zostera and ruppia. By origin, the flora belongs mainly to the Neogene age, however, some plants were introduced into the Caspian Sea by humans deliberately or on the bottoms of ships.
Oil and gas
Many oil and gas fields are being developed in the Caspian Sea. The proven oil resources in the Caspian Sea are about 10 billion tons, the total oil and gas condensate resources are estimated at 18 - 20 billion tons.
Oil production in the Caspian Sea began in 1820, when the first oil well was drilled on the Absheron shelf. In the second half of the 19th century, oil production began in industrial volumes on the Apsheron Peninsula, then in other territories.
In addition to oil and gas production, salt, limestone, stone, sand and clay are also mined on the coast of the Caspian Sea and the Caspian shelf.
Caspian Sea short description an endless salt lake of Eurasia and the largest lake on the planet is described in this article. A message about the Caspian Sea will help you prepare for your studies.
Caspian Sea: report
This water body is located at the geographic junction of Europe and Asia. The water level is 28 m below sea level. During its long history, the Caspian Sea has "changed" more than 70 names. And his modern name it received from the ancient tribe of the Caspians, who were engaged in horse breeding and settled along the southwestern shore of the lake.
Salinity of the Caspian Sea not constant: near the mouth of the Volga River, it is 0.05%, and in the southeast, the figure increases to 13%. The area of the water body today is about 371,000 km 2, the maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is 1025 m.
Features of the Caspian Sea
Scientists conditionally divided the lake-sea into 3 natural zones:
- Northern
- Average
- Yuzhny
Each of them has a different depth and composition of water. For example, the smallest part is North. The full-flowing Volga River flows here, therefore the salinity is the lowest here. And the southern part is the deepest, and, accordingly, salty.
The Caspian Sea was formed more than 10 million years ago. It can be called part of the ancient Tethys superocean, which once ran between the African, Indian and Eurasian continental plates. Its long history is also evidenced by the nature of the bottom and geological coastal deposits. The length of the coastline is 6500 - 6700 km, and with the islands up to 7000 km.
The shores of the Caspian Sea are mostly smooth and low-lying. The northern part of the coastline is indented by islands and channels of the Ural and Volga delta. The coast is swampy and low, covered with thickets. The east coast is characterized by limestone shores that adjoin deserts and semi-deserts. The west and east coasts have winding shores.
Where does the Caspian Sea flow?
Since the Caspian is a closed body of water, it is logical that it does not flow anywhere. But 130 rivers flow into it. The largest of them are Terek, Volga, Emba, Ural, Kura, Atrek, Samur.
Caspian climate
The climate is continental in the northern part of the sea, temperate in the middle and subtropical in the southern part. In winter, the average temperature ranges from - 8 ... - 10 ( Northern part) to +8 ... + 10 (southern part). The average summer temperature ranges from +24 (northern part) to +27 (southern part). On the east coast, the maximum temperature was recorded - 44 degrees.
Fauna and flora
The fauna is diverse and has 1809 species. The sea is inhabited by 415 invertebrates, 101 fish species. It concentrates most of world reserves of pike perch, sturgeon, roach, carp. The Caspian Sea is home to carp, mullet, bream, sprat, perch, kutum, pike, as well as such a large mammal as the Caspian seal.
The flora is represented by 728 species. The sea is dominated by diatoms, brown algae, red algae, blue-green algae, chara algae, ruppia and zostera.
The importance of the Caspian Sea
There are many gas and oil reserves on its territory, the deposits of which are at the development stage. Scientists have calculated that oil resources are 10 billion tons, and gas condensate - 20 billion tons. The first oil well was drilled in 1820 on the Absheron shelf. Limestone, sand, salt, stone and clay are also mined on its shelf.
In addition, the Caspian Sea is popular with tourists. Modern resort zones are being created on its shores, mineral water and dirt is conducive to development wellness complexes and sanatoriums. The most famous resorts- Amburan, Nardaran, Zagulba, Bilgah.
Environmental problems of the Caspian Sea
The waters of the sea are polluted as a result of the production and transportation of gas and oil on the shelf. Also, pollutants come from rivers flowing into it. Poaching of sturgeon caviar led to a decrease in the number of these fish.
We hope that the report on the Caspian Sea helped you prepare for the lesson. And you can add an essay on the Caspian Sea through the comment form below.
Caspian lake is one of the most unique places on the ground. It keeps many secrets associated with the history of the development of our planet.
Position on the physical map
The Caspian Sea is an internal drainless salt Lake... The geographical position of the Caspian Lake is the continent of Eurasia at the junction of parts of the world (Europe and Asia).
The length of the lake shore line is from 6500 km to 6700 km. Taking into account the islands, the length increases to 7000 km.
The coastal areas of the Caspian Lake are mostly low-lying. Their northern part is cut by the channels of the Volga and the Urals. The river delta is rich in islands. The surface of the water in these areas is covered with thickets. Swampiness of large areas of land is noted.
The eastern coast of the Caspian Sea is adjacent to. On the shores of the lake there are significant deposits of limestone. For western and part east coast the winding line of the coast is characteristic.
The Caspian Lake on the map is represented by a significant size. The entire territory adjacent to it was named the Caspian Sea region.
Some characteristics
In terms of its area and volume of water, the Caspian Lake has no equal on Earth. It stretches from north to south for 1,049 kilometers, and its greatest length from west to east is 435 kilometers.
If we take into account the depth of reservoirs, their area and volume of water, then the lake is comparable to the Yellow, Baltic and Black seas. By the same parameters, the Caspian Sea surpasses the Tyrrhenian, Aegean, Adriatic and other seas.
The volume of water available in the Caspian Lake is 44% of the total lake water supply of the planet.
Lake or sea?
Why is the Caspian lake called the sea? Is it really the imposing size of the reservoir that became the reason for the assignment of such a "status"? More precisely, this was one of such reasons.
Others include a huge mass of water in the lake, the presence of a large wave during stormy winds. All this is typical for real seas. It becomes clear why the Caspian Lake is called the sea.
But here one of the basic conditions is not named, which must necessarily exist for geographers to classify a body of water as a sea. We are talking about a direct connection between the lake and the World Ocean. Exactly this condition The Caspian does not match.
Where the Caspian Lake is located, a depression was formed in the earth's crust several tens of thousands of years ago. Today it is filled with the waters of the Caspian. According to scientists, at the end of the 20th century, the water level in the Caspian Sea was 28 meters below the level of the World Ocean. The direct connection between the waters of the lake and the ocean ceased to exist about 6 millennia ago. The conclusion from the above is that the Caspian Sea is a lake.
There is one more feature that distinguishes the Caspian from the sea - the salinity of the water in it is almost 3 times lower than the salinity of the World Ocean. The explanation for this is that about 130 large and small rivers carry fresh water to the Caspian Sea. The Volga makes the most significant contribution to this work - it is she who "gives" up to 80% of all water to the lake.
The river played another important role in the life of the Caspian. It is she who will help find the answer to the question of why the Caspian Lake is called the sea. Now that many canals have been built by man, it has become a fact that the Volga connects the lake with the World Ocean.
The history of the lake
Modern look and geographical position Caspian lakes are caused by continuous processes taking place on the surface of the Earth and in its depths. There were times when the Caspian was connected with Sea of Azov, and through it with the Mediterranean and Black. That is, tens of thousands of years ago, the Caspian Lake was part of the World Ocean.
As a result of the processes associated with the raising and lowering of the earth's crust, mountains appeared on the site of the modern Caucasus. They isolated a body of water that was part of a huge ancient ocean. Several tens of thousands of years passed before the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas separated. But for a long time, the connection between their waters was carried out through the strait, which was on the site of the Kumo-Manych depression.
Periodically, the narrow strait was drained and then re-filled with water. This was due to fluctuations in the level of the World Ocean and changes in the appearance of the land.
In short, the origin of the Caspian Lake is closely related to the general history of the formation of the Earth's surface.
The lake got its modern name because of the Caspian tribes inhabiting the eastern parts of the Caucasus and the steppe zones of the Caspian territories. Throughout its history, the lake has had 70 different names.
Territorial division of the lake-sea
The depth of the Caspian Lake in different places is very different. Based on this, the entire water area of the lake-sea was conditionally divided into three parts: the North Caspian, the Middle and the South.
Shallow water is the northern part of the lake. The average depth of these places is 4.4 meters. The highest indicator is the mark of 27 meters. And on 20% of the entire area of the Northern Caspian, the depth is only about a meter. It is clear that this part of the lake is not very suitable for navigation.
The Middle Caspian Sea has the greatest depth at 788 meters. The deep-water part is occupied by lakes. The average depth here is 345 meters, and the greatest is 1026 meters.
Seasonal changes at sea
Due to the large extent of the reservoir from north to south climatic conditions on the shores of the lake are not the same. Seasonal changes in the territories adjacent to the reservoir also depend on this.
In winter, on the southern coast of the lake in Iran, the water temperature does not drop below 13 degrees. During the same period, in the northern part of the lake off the coast of Russia, the water temperature does not exceed 0 degrees. The North Caspian is frozen in ice for 2-3 months a year.
In summer, almost everywhere, the Caspian Lake warms up to 25-30 degrees. Warm water, excellent sandy beaches, sunny weather create excellent conditions for the recreation of people.
Caspian on the political map of the world
Five states are located on the shores of the Caspian Lake - Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
The western regions of the North and Middle Caspian belong to the territory of Russia. Iran is located on southern shores sea, it owns 15% of the entire length of the coastline. The eastern coastline is divided by Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Azerbaijan is located in the southwestern territories of the Caspian Sea.
The issue of dividing the water area of the lake between the Caspian states has been the most acute for many years. The heads of the five states are trying to find a solution that would satisfy the needs and requirements of everyone.
Natural resources of the lake
Caspian Sea since ancient times for local residents served as a water transport artery.
The lake is famous for its valuable fish species, in particular sturgeon. Their reserves account for up to 80% of the world's resources. The issue of preserving the sturgeon population is of international importance, it is resolved at the level of the government of the Caspian states.
The Caspian seal is another mystery of the unique sea-lake. Scientists have not yet fully unraveled the mystery of the appearance of this animal in the waters of the Caspian, as well as other species of animals in northern latitudes.
In total, 1809 species of various groups of animals live in the Caspian Sea. There are 728 species of plants. Most of them are the "indigenous inhabitants" of the lake. But there is a small group of plants that were intentionally introduced by humans.
Of the minerals, the main wealth of the Caspian is oil and gas. Some information sources compare the oil reserves of the Caspian Lake deposits with Kuwait. Commercial offshore mining of black gold is carried out on the lake with late XIX century. The first well appeared on the Absheron shelf in 1820.
Today, the governments unanimously believe that the region should not be viewed only as a source of oil and gas, while ignoring the ecology of the Caspian Sea.
In addition to oil fields, in the Caspian region there are deposits of salt, stone, limestone, clay and sand. Their extraction also could not but affect the ecological situation in the region.
Sea level fluctuations
The water level in the Caspian Lake is not constant. This is evidenced by evidence dating back to the 4th century BC. The ancient Greeks, who explored the sea, discovered a large bay at the confluence of the Volga. The existence of a shallow strait between the Caspian and the Sea of Azov was also discovered by them.
There are other data on the water level in the Caspian Lake. The facts show that the level was much lower than it is now. The ancients are the proof architectural structures found on seabed... The buildings date back to the 7th-13th centuries. Now the depth of their flooding is from 2 to 7 meters.
In 1930, the water level in the lake began to drop catastrophically. The process went on for almost fifty years. This caused great concern among people, since all economic activities of the Caspian region are adapted to the previously established water level.
Since 1978, the level has started to rise again. Today it has become more than 2 meters taller. This is also an undesirable phenomenon for people living on the coast of the lake-sea.
Climate change is said to be the main cause of fluctuations in the lake. This entails an increase in the volume of river waters entering the Caspian Sea, the amount of atmospheric precipitation, and a decrease in the intensity of water evaporation.
However, it cannot be said that this is the only opinion explaining the fluctuation of the water level in the Caspian Lake. There are others, no less plausible.
Human activities and environmental problems
The catchment area of the Caspian Lake is 10 times the surface of the water area of the reservoir itself. Therefore, all the changes taking place in such a vast territory in one way or another affect the ecology of the Caspian.
Human activities play an important role in changing the ecological situation in the region of the Caspian Lake. For example, pollution of a reservoir with harmful and hazardous substances occurs along with the inflow fresh water... This is directly related to industrial production, the extraction of mineral resources and other human economic activities in the catchment area.
The state of the environment of the Caspian and adjacent territories is of general concern to the governments of the countries located here. Therefore, the discussion of measures aimed at preserving unique lake, its flora and fauna, has become traditional.
Each state has an understanding that only joint efforts can improve the ecology of the Caspian.
Expert answerOn Sunday, August 12, in Kazakhstan's Aktau, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. Previously, its status was regulated by the Soviet-Iranian treaties, in which the Caspian Sea was defined as a closed (inland) sea, and each Caspian state had sovereign rights to a 10-mile zone and equal rights to the rest of the sea.
Now, according to the new convention, each country has its own territorial waters (zones 15 miles wide). In addition, the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will not apply to the Caspian Sea, the seabed will be delineated into sectors, as is done by neighbors in the seas, and sovereignty over the water column will be established on the basis that it is a lake.
Why is the Caspian not considered a lake or a sea?
To be considered a sea, the Caspian must have access to the ocean, this is one of the most important conditions, according to which a body of water can be called a sea. But the Caspian does not have an outlet to the ocean, therefore it is considered a closed body of water, not connected to the World Ocean.
The second feature that distinguishes sea waters from lakes is their high salinity. The water in the Caspian Sea is indeed salty, but in terms of its salt composition, it occupies an intermediate position between the river and the ocean. In addition, salinity in the Caspian Sea increases towards the south. The Volga delta contains from 0.3 ‰ of salts, and in the eastern regions of the South and Middle Caspian the salinity reaches 13-14 ‰. And if we talk about the salinity of the World Ocean, then it averages 34.7 ‰.
Due to the specific geographic and hydrological characteristics, the reservoir has received a special legal status. The summit participants made a decision according to which the Caspian is an inland water body that has no direct connection with the World Ocean, and therefore cannot be considered a sea, and at the same time, due to its size, water composition and bottom features, it cannot be considered a lake.
What has been achieved since the signing of the Convention?
The new treaty expands opportunities for cooperation between countries, and also involves limiting any military presence of third countries. According to political scientist, director of the Institute new states Alexey Martynov, the main achievement of the last summit is that its participants managed to stop any talk about the possible construction of NATO military bases and infrastructure facilities in the Caspian Sea.
“The most important thing that has been achieved is to fix that the Caspian will be demilitarized for all Caspian states. There will be no other military personnel other than those representing the countries that signed the Caspian Agreement. It is principled and main question, which was important to fix. Everything else, that which is divided in proportion to the zone of influence, zone of extraction of biological resources, zone of production of shelf resources was not so important. As we remember, in the past twenty years, the military has actively sought to the region. The United States even wanted to build its own military base", - says Martynov.
In addition to distributing the shares of each country in the oil and gas fields of the Caspian basin, the Convention also provides for the construction of pipelines. As stated in the document, the rules for their laying provide for the consent of only neighboring countries, and not all countries of the Caspian Sea. After the signing of the agreement, Turkmenistan, in particular, announced that it was ready to lay pipelines along the seabed of the Caspian, which would allow it to export its gas through Azerbaijan to Europe. The consent of Russia, which previously insisted that the project could only be implemented with the permission of all five Caspian states, is no longer required. The gas pipeline is planned to be connected in the future to the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline, through which natural gas will go through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Greece.
“Turkmenistan is not a foreign country to us, but our partner, a country that we consider very important for us on the territory of the post-Soviet space. We cannot be against them receiving an additional impetus for development through such pipeline projects. Gas has long been coming from Turkmenistan and other countries through a different pipeline system, somewhere it even mixes with Russian, and there is nothing wrong with that. If this project works, then everyone will benefit, including Russia. The project should by no means be regarded as some kind of competition. The European market is so big and insatiable, I mean the energy market, that there is enough room for everyone, ”Martynov says.
Today, almost all Turkmen gas is supplied to China, where Russia also intends to supply blue fuel. For this purpose, in particular, a large-scale project for the construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline is being implemented. Thus, the geography of gas supplies from both countries can expand - Turkmenistan will gain access to the European market, and Russia will be able to increase its gas supplies to China.
The Caspian Sea is notable for the fact that its west coast belongs to Europe, and the eastern one is located in Asia. This is a huge body of salt water. It is called the sea, but, in fact, it is a lake, since it has no connection with the World Ocean. Therefore, it can be considered the most large lake in the world.
The area of the water giant is 371 thousand square meters. km. As for the depth, the northern part of the sea is rather shallow, while the southern part is deep. The average depth is 208 meters, but it does not give any idea of the thickness of the water mass. The entire reservoir is divided into three parts. These are North, Middle and South Caspian... The northern one is a sea shelf. It accounts for only 1% of the total volume of water. This part ends behind the Kizlyar Bay near the Chechen island. The average depth in these places is 5-6 meters.
In the Middle Caspian sea bottom decreases markedly, and the average depth reaches 190 meters. The maximum is 788 meters. This part of the sea contains 33% of the total volume of water. And the South Caspian is considered the deepest. It absorbs 66% of the total water mass. The maximum depth was noted in the South Caspian depression. She is equal 1025 meters away and is considered official maximum depth sea today. The Middle and South Caspian are approximately equal in area and occupy a total of 75% of the area of the entire reservoir.
The maximum length is 1030 km, and the corresponding width is 435 km. The minimum width is 195 km. The average figure is 317 km. That is, the reservoir has an impressive size and is rightfully called the sea. The length of the coastline, together with the islands, reaches almost 7 thousand km. As for the water level, it is 28 meters below the level of the World Ocean.
The most interesting thing is that the level of the Caspian Sea is subject to cyclicality. The water rises and falls. The water level has been measured since 1837. According to experts, over the past thousand years, the level fluctuated within 15 meters. This is a very large figure. And they associate it with geological and anthropogenic (human impact on the environment) processes. However, it was noted that since the beginning of the XXI century, the level of a huge reservoir has been steadily rising.
5 countries surround the Caspian Sea... These are Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. And the longest coastline has Kazakhstan. Russia is in second place. But the length of the coastal line of Azerbaijan reaches only 800 km, but on the other hand, this place is the most major port in the Caspian. This is, of course, Baku. The city is home to 2 million people, and the population of the entire Absheron Peninsula is 2.5 million people.
"Oil Rocks" - a city in the sea
These are 200 platforms with a total length of 350 kilometers.
Notable is the oilmen settlement, which bears the name " Oil Rocks". It is located 42 km east of Absheron in the sea and is a creation of human hands. All residential and industrial buildings are built on metal racks. People serve oil rigs pumping oil from the bowels of the earth. Of course, there are no permanent residents in this village.
In addition to Baku, other large cities are located along the shores of the salt reservoir. On the southern tip is the Iranian city of Anzali with a population of 111 thousand people. It is the largest Iranian port in the Caspian. Kazakhstan owns the city of Aktau with a population of 178 thousand people. And in the northern part, directly on the Ural River, there is the city of Atyrau. It is inhabited by 183 thousand people.
The Russian city of Astrakhan also has the status of a seaside city, although it is 60 km from the coast and is located in the Volga River delta. It is a regional center with a population of over 500 thousand people. Directly on the seashore there are such Russian cities like Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Derbent. The latter refers to the oldest cities the world. People have been living in this place for over 5 thousand years.
Many rivers flow into the Caspian Sea. There are about 130 of them. The largest of them are the Volga, Terek, Ural, Kura, Atrek, Emba, Sulak. It is the rivers, not precipitation, that feed the huge reservoir. They give him up to 95% of water a year. The basin of the reservoir is 3.626 million square meters. km. These are all rivers with their tributaries flowing into the Caspian. The territory is huge, it includes and Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay.
It would be more correct to call this bay a lagoon. It means a shallow body of water, separated from the sea by a sand bar or reefs. There is such a spit in the Caspian as well. And the strait through which water comes from the sea is 200 km wide. True, people with their restless and ill-considered activities almost destroyed Kara-Bogaz-Gol. They fenced off the lagoon with a dam, and its level plummeted. But after 12 years, the mistake was corrected and the strait was restored.
In the Caspian at all times there was developed shipping... In the Middle Ages, merchants carried exotic spices and skins of snow leopards from Persia to Russia by sea. Today, the reservoir connects the cities located on its banks. Are practiced ferry crossings... There is a water connection with Black and Baltic Sea across rivers and canals.
Caspian Sea on the map
The reservoir is also important from the point of view fishing, because in it in a large number sturgeon lives and gives caviar. But today the number of sturgeon has significantly decreased. Environmentalists propose to ban the capture of this valuable fish until the population recovers. But this issue has not yet been resolved. The number of tuna, bream, and pike perch also decreased. Here it is necessary to take into account the fact that poaching is highly developed at sea. The reason for it is the difficult economic situation in the region.
And, of course, I need to say a few words about oil... The mining of "black gold" at sea began in 1873. The districts adjacent to Baku have become a real gold mine. There were more than 2 thousand wells here, and oil production and processing was carried out on an industrial scale. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was the center of the international oil industry. In 1920, Azerbaijan was captured by the Bolsheviks. Oil wells and factories were requisitioned. The entire oil industry came under the control of the USSR. In 1941, Azerbaijan supplied 72% of all oil produced in the socialist state.
In 1994, the "Contract of the Century" was signed. He laid the foundation for the international development of the Baku oil fields. The main Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline allows Azerbaijani oil to flow directly to the Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. It was put into operation in 2006. Today, oil reserves are estimated at 12 trillion. US dollars.
Thus, it can be seen that the Caspian Sea is one of the most important economic regions in the world. The political situation in the Caspian region is rather complicated. For a long time, there were disputes about the maritime borders between Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Iran. There were many inconsistencies, disagreements, which negatively affected the development of the region.
This was ended on August 12, 2018. On this day, the states of the "Caspian Five" signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. This document delimited the bottom and subsoil, and each of the five countries (Russia, Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan) received its share in the Caspian basin. The rules for the implementation of shipping, fishing, scientific research, and the laying of pipelines were also approved. The boundaries of territorial waters received the status of state ones.
Yuri Syromyatnikov
