Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, it is also classed as the world’s largest salt lake. It lies between Europe and Asia, east of the Caucasus Mountains, west of the vast steppe of Central Asia, north of the mountainous Iranian Plateau of Western Asia, and south of the rich plains of Southern Russia in Eastern Europe. The sea is bordered by Kazakhstan to the northeast, by Turkmenistan to the southeast, by Iran to the south, by Azerbaijan to the southwest, and by Russia to the northwest.

The coastline of the Caspian Sea is nearly 4400 kilometers and around 820 kilometers of that is in Iran. The sea covers nearly 1,200 kilometers from north to south, and its average width is 320 kilometers. The sea sprawls an area of about 386,400 square kilometers and its surface is about 27 meters below sea level. The maximum seabed, toward the south, is 1,025 meters below the sea level, which is, after Lake Baikal, the second lowest natural depression in the world. Caspian Sea contains about 78,200 cubic Kilometers of water, around one-third of world’s inland surface water.

Existence of Alborz mountain range, the presence of several deep faults, and the difference in altitude on the Caspian coast has caused the division of this coast, including:

 1- Astara-Rezvanshahr region; 2- Anzali-Rudsar region; 3- Ramsar-Noor region; 4- Noor-Neka region; 5- Golestan region (southeast)

The northern part of the Caspian Sea is located in a moderately continental climate region, whereas the middle and most of the southern part of the Caspian Sea is situated in the warm continental zone. The Caspian Sea’s average annual air temperature ranges from 10°C in the north to 17°C in the south. The temperature in the summer is almost the same everywhere. But in winter, the northern part of the Caspian Sea (at least four months) has sub-zero temperature and is icy, while in the south it never freezes and the average temperature is +5.9°C. The humidity of the air above the Caspian Sea becomes more from south to north at the top of the sea and from east to west on shores. 

The southern shorelines of the Caspian Sea which are located in Iran from east to west are as follows:

The river’s shores of Atrak, Gorgan, Qarah Su, Tajan, Talar, Haraz, Chalus, Cheshmeh Kileh, Polrood, Shalmanrood, Chamkhaleh, Sefidrood, Pasikhan, Shakhazar, Masuleh, and Lombar.

Due to its geographical location, active economical market and the presence of different Iranian ethnic groups (human relations), the Caspian Sea has unique features that indicates cultural diversity on the coast of this sea. Also, the spread of the culture of using marine resources in different ways has been able to provide some special facilities in various fields (economic, welfare, social, etc.) for the residents and tourists of this region.

Various ethnicities and races (about 41 ethnic groups) live in Caspian littoral countries. The most important Iranian ethnic groups which live on the southern shore of the Caspian Sea in Iran are as follows:

1- Gil or Gilak, these people live on the southwest coast of the Caspian Sea (Gilan province) and speak Gilaki language (a branch of the Indo-European language). According to the available linguistic evidence, it seems that the ancestors of these people came from the Caucasus.

2- Tabari or Mazandarani, these people speak Mazandarani language. The generation of these people is one of the Iranian tribes called Tapur Tribe who lived in the ancient land of Merv.

3- Galesh or Gawlesh (which in Persian means cowboy or someone who is rancher), these people speak Galeshi language, which is a Gliki’s dialect, and mostly live in the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and the mountains.

4- Taleshi, the people of this tribe are divided into two categories: Taleshi (people who live in villages and cities and are farmer and mainly live in Gilan and southeastern of Azerbaijan) and Galshi (people who live in the mountains and are rancher). The language of these people has the same root as Gilaki and Mazandarani languages, but there are obvious differences in the language of these people.

Due to the geographical position and locating the Caspian Sea between several countries and the presence of different ethnicities and races, several international, national, indigenous and local events are held annually:

1- Caspian Friendship International Film and Photo Biennial Festival, which strengthens cultural interactions in the region.

2- Cultural Festival of the Caspian littoral countries, which, through the exchange of media experiences, leads to the creation of a solution to counteract the cultural threats of the West.

3- Caspian Sea without Borders Festival

4- Iranology photo contest on the subject of culture and the nature of the Caspian Sea coastlines

5- Caspian Sea National Day Festival

6- Cultural, artistic, food, indigenous and local festivals that are held every year in different cities along the Caspian Sea shorelines.

As different provinces are located in the southern coastline of the Caspian Sea, fortunately there are many resorts and recreation centers on the Caspian coast, especially in the provinces of Mazandaran and Gilan, including the following centers:

Swan Motel lido, Ramsar Telecabin Marine Sports Club, Ramsar Water Park, Ramsar Beach Village, Ramsar Silver Beach, Namak Abroud Beach Promenade, Sitra Nowshahr Recreation and Tourism Complex, Miankaleh Peninsula, Sisangan Forest Park and etc. in Mazandaran province

Chamkhaleh beach, Bandar Anzali beach, Kiashahr port beach, Chaboksar beach, Masouleh, Elenzeh plain, Deilaman, Olesbolangah Masal summer area, Gisum forest, Latun waterfall, Rudkhan castle, and etc. in Gilan province

In all the provinces of the Caspian Sea, there are ecotourism resorts (especially in rural areas and with beautiful tourist attractions), suites, inns and hotels (with different qualities) that are ready to give services to Iranian and foreign tourists in all seasons.

The coastal areas of the Caspian Sea are considered to be the most populous areas of the country, where about 25 million Iranian travelers travel to this region of the country every year. In some areas, the natives of this region are present in most tourist centers and attractions as vital guides in the region, who have been professionally trained to help tourists and people who intend to travel to this part of the country by showing them the tourist attractions in the region. So local people are one of the most important and key factors in successfully uniting the beaches.

Considering the situation of the Caspian Sea, this region faces numerous biological damages, which all of them will eventually lead to the destruction of most of the existing marine ecosystems. With the increase of uncontrolled human activities and the construction of various buildings along the Caspian Sea coast, the development of road construction without considering environmental capacities, pollution of coastal and groundwater with the flow of urban, agricultural and industrial sewage into the region, overfishing and decreasing fish populations, excessive demand of tourists and forgetting the sea border are some of the dangers that threaten the Caspian Sea.