Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: What is the deepest point in the Caspian Sea?
Differences between the three regions are dramatic. The Northern Caspian only includes the Caspian shelf,[15] and is very shallow; it accounts for less than 1% of the total water volume with an average depth of only 5–6 metres (16–20ft). The sea noticeably drops off towards the Middle Caspian, where the average depth is 190 metres (620ft).[14] The Southern Caspian is the deepest, with oceanic depths of over 1,000 metres (3,300ft), greatly exceeding the depth of other regional seas, such as the Persian Gulf. The Middle and Southern Caspian account for 33% and 66% of the total water volume, respectively.[12] The northern portion of the Caspian Sea typically freezes in the winter, and in the coldest winters ice forms in the south as well.[16]
The Caspian Flotilla was instrumental for cargo-turnover until World War II. Approximately one third of all cargo transported throughout the seas of the USSR was delivered along the Caspian Sea through the Flotilla. Among various reasons for this was the close proximity of oil deposits, petroleum refineries, and cotton storehouses. Transportation of wood and bread to the Caucasus and Middle Asia, which were delivered through the Caspian Sea via the Volga and the Urals, also influenced the high level of cargo-turnover. Oil and oil products, which were mainly transported from Baku to Astrakhan for further transportation to other regions of the USSR through the Volga River were the main goods determining significance of the Caspian Sea. The territory of Azerbaijan, mainly Baku-Baladjary point, located on the junction of railway and marine roads, was the important link on the railway road of the South Caucasus.
The Caspian red deer ("Cervus elaphus maral"), is one of the easternmost subspecies of red deer that is native to areas between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea such as Crimea, Asia Minor, the Caucasus Mountains region bordering Europe and Asia, and along the Caspian Sea region in Iran. The Caspian red deer is sometimes referred to as maral, noble deer, or eastern red deer.
The British Caspian Flotilla was a naval force of the Royal Navy established in the Caspian Sea in 1918. It was part of the allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. The flotilla initially reported to the Rear-Admiral Commanding, Black Sea, Caspian Sea and Sea of Marmora until 1919.
Mazandaran is located on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. It is bordered clockwise by Golestan, Semnan and Tehran provinces. This province also borders Qazvin and Gilan to the west.
Mazandaran province is geographically divided into two parts: the coastal plains, and the mountainous areas. The Alborz Mountain Range surrounds the coastal strip and plains of the Caspian Sea.
From the geographical point of view, Mazandaran province is divided into two parts i.e. coastal plain and the mountainous area. The Alborz Mountain Range like a huge wall has surrounded the coastal strip and plains of the Caspian Sea. Due to permanent sea breeze and local winds of the southern and eastern coasts of the Caspian Sea, sandy hills are formed, causing the appearance of a low natural barrier between the sea and plain.
There is often snowfall in the Alborz regions, which run parallel to the Caspian Sea's southern coast, dividing the province into many isolated valleys. The province enjoys a moderate, subtropical climate with an average temperature of 25 °C in summer and about 8 °C in winter. Although snow may fall heavily in the mountains in winter, it rarely falls at sea level.
Ecoregions:
The total wood production from these forests is estimated at . Golestan National Park and Shastkolateh forest watershed are located in Golestan Province), Mazandaran Province (the total area of the Hyrcanian forest is estimated at . From these forests, are used commercially, are protected and the rest are regarded as forest lands or over-used forests. The total of the forest woods used in this province is estimated at . The Kojoor, Dohezar and Sehezar forest watersheds are located in Mazandaran province.
The Elburz Range forest steppe ecoregion is an arid, mountainous 1,000-kilometer arc south of the Caspian Sea, stretching across northern Iran from the Azerbaijan border to near the Turkmenistan border. It covers and encompasses the southern and eastern slopes of the Alborz Mountains as well as their summits. The Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests ecoregion, with its lush green mountainsides and plains that receive moisture from the Caspian Sea, forms this ecoregion's northern border. The vast Central Persian desert basin ecoregion forms its southern border. The Alborz range is composed of a granite core overlain with sedimentary rock including limestones, shales, sandstones, and tuffs. Metamorphic rocks such as schists, marbles, and amphibolite are also widely found. The climate is arid with annual precipitation varying from 150 mm to 500 mm, falling mostly as winter snow.
Also in 2006, Lin completed her "Bodies of Water" series, which included representations of three bodies of water, "The Black Sea," "The Caspian Sea," and "The Red Sea." Each sculpture is made of layers of birch plywood, and are to-scale representations of three endangered bodies of water. The sculptures are balanced on the deepest point of the sea. Lin wishes to call attention to the "unseen ecosystems" that people continue to pollute.
Baku, which is the starting point of all sea routes of Azerbaijan, is the largest port of the Caspian Sea. Azerbaijan has access to the oceans along the Caspian Sea-Volga-Volga-Don Canal, and the Don-Sea of Azov. Along with the Volga-Don Canal, the Azerbaijani vessels have the opportunity to enter the world ocean through the Volga-Baltic and White Sea-Baltic canals. Moreover, oil tankers are being transported through the Caspian Sea. Baku Sea Trade Port and Caspian Shipping Company CJSC, have a big role in the sea transportation of Azerbaijan. The Caspian Sea Shipping Company CJSC, along with the transport fleet, also includes a specialized fleet and shipyards. The transport fleet consists of 51 vessels, including 20 tankers, 13 ferries, 15 universal dry cargo vessels, 2 Ro-Ro vessels, as well as 1 technical vessel and 1 floating workshop. The specialized fleet includes 210 vessels, including 20 cranes, 25 towing and supplying vehicles, 26 passenger, two pipe-laying, six fire-fighting, seven engineering-geological, two diving and 88 auxiliary vessels.[44]
Most of the mountainous islands are covered in tropical rainforest and volcanic in origin. The highest mountain is Mount Apo. It measures up to above sea level and is located on the island of Mindanao. The Galathea Depth in the Philippine Trench is the deepest point in the country and the third deepest in the world. The trench is located in the Philippine Sea.
The planimetrically-determined centre of North Rhine-Westphalia is located in the south of Dortmund-Aplerbeck in the Aplerbecker Mark (51° 28' N, 7° 33' Ö). Its westernmost point is situated near Selfkant close to the Dutch border, the easternmost near Höxter on the Weser. The southernmost point lies near Hellenthal in the Eifel region. The northernmost point is the NRW-Nordpunkt near Rahden in the northeast of the state. The Nordpunkt is located only 100 km to the south of the North Sea coast. The deepest natural dip is arranged in the district Zyfflich in the city of Kranenburg with 9.2 m above sea level in the northwest of the state. Though, the deepest point overground results from mining. The open-pit Hambach reaches at Niederzier a deep of 293 m below sea level. At the same time, this is the deepest man-made dip in Germany.
While the sub-sea tunnel deepest point is below sea level, the deepest sea depth is , and the minimum rock coverage is .
As of the late 1920s, the deepest humans could safely descend in diving helmets was several hundred feet. Submarines of the time had descended to a maximum of , but had no windows, making them useless for Beebe's goal of observing deep-sea animals. The deepest in the ocean that any human had descended at this point was wearing an armored suit, but these suits also made movement and observation extremely difficult. What Beebe hoped to create was a deep-sea vessel which both could descend to a much greater depth than any human had descended thus far, and also would enable him to clearly observe and document the deep ocean's wildlife.
A global sea level rise of roughly would cause the ocean surface to be higher than the highest point of an area between the ocean and the Caspian, forming a narrow channel straddling the lake in the area between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea, potentially placing the Caspian Depression area under water.
The realm contains several important freshwater ecoregions as well, including the heavily developed rivers of Europe, the rivers of Russia, which flow into the Arctic, Baltic, Black, and Caspian seas, Siberia's Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake on the planet, and Japan's ancient Lake Biwa.
Iranrud Baku oil fields Caspians Ekranoplan, a ground effect plane which was developed on the Caspian Sea. Epoch of Extreme Inundations Framework Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea Shah Deniz gas field South Caucasus Pipeline Southern Gas Corridor Tengiz Field Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline Trans-Caspian Oil Transport System Wildlife of Azerbaijan Wildlife of Iran Wildlife of Kazakhstan Wildlife of Russia
Geologically, the Caspian Sea, like the Black and Mediterranean seas, is a remnant of the ancient Tethys Ocean. The deepest area is oceanic rather than continental crust. However, it is generally regarded by geographers as a large endorheic salt lake.
The lower part of the river flows through the Kura-Aras Lowland, which covers most of central Azerbaijan and abuts the Caspian Sea. The Kura is the third largest, after the Volga and Ural, of the rivers that flow into the Caspian. Its delta is the fourth largest among the rivers that flow into the Caspian Sea, and is divided into three main sections, or "sleeves", composed of sediment the river deposited during different periods of time. Before 1998, the river flowed all the way to the tip of the delta, where it discharged into the Caspian. In that year, the river escaped its channel and started to flow off to the west, leaving the last few kilometers abandoned. The course change is believed to be the result of a rise in the level of the Caspian Sea coupled with a major flood of the Kura.
Salsvatnet is a lake in the municipalities of Fosnes and Nærøy in Trøndelag county, Norway. With its deepest depth of , it is Norway's and Europe's second-deepest lake, after Hornindalsvatnet. Alternate sources give the depth as either or at the deepest point. The lake sits very close to the ocean, about above sea level at the surface and reaches to a depth of below sea level. It is a very large lake with an area of , a volume of , and a shoreline that is around.
The Black Sea-Caspian Steppe is an informal name for that part of the Eurasian Steppe that extends south between the Black and Caspian Seas. It is usually treated as part of the Pontic-Caspian steppe which includes the area north of the Black and Caspian Seas, but there is some reason to treat it as a distinct place. Its natural boundaries are the Sea of Azov and Black Sea on the west, the Caucasus Mountains on the south and the Caspian Sea on the east. Its northern boundary may be taken as the triangle formed by the lower Don River and Volga River which are about 60 km apart to the west of Volgograd. This article excludes the north slope of the Caucasus which is not steppe and has a distinct geography and history.
Asia also contains several important freshwater ecoregions as well, including Rivers of Russia, which flow into the Arctic, Black, and Caspian seas, Siberia's Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake on the planet(home to numerous endemic sponges, oligochaetes, and crustaceans and the Baikal seal), Khanka Lake, and Japan's Lake Biwa, Lake Dongting, Lake Tai and Lake Poyang in China. The rivers of China are home to the critically endangered finless porpoise and baiji. There are also several Asian lakes with saline or brackish water, and with peculiar fauna (Caspian Sea, Lake Balkhash, Aral Sea, Issyk Kul, Qinghai Lake).
The Aral–Caspian Depression is a lowland depression straddling Europe and Asia around the Aral Sea and Northern Caspian Sea. The most northern part is called the Caspian Depression. The desert part to the east of the Caspian Depression and Caspian is called the Turan Depression. In Azerbaijan, the Kura-Aras Lowland is part of the Aral–Caspian Depression. 
A similar Sasanian defence wall and fortification lies on the opposite, western, side of the Caspian Sea at the port of Derbent, in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. There the remains of a line of fortifications run inland for some from the shore of the Caspian Sea () to what is today an extraordinarily well preserved Sassanian fort () on the first foothills of the Caucasus mountains.
Balkhash lies in the deepest part of the vast Balkhash-Alakol depression, which was formed by a sloping trough between mountains of the Alpine orogeny and the older Kazakhstan Block during the Neogene and Quaternary. Rapid erosion of the Tian Shan has meant the depression subsequently filled with sand river sediments in what is geologically a very short time span. The basin is a part of Dzungarian Alatau, which also contains lakes Sasykkol, Alakol and Aibi. These lakes are remnants of an ancient sea which once covered the entire Balkhash-Alakol depression, but was not connected with the Aral–Caspian Depression.
The Rostov Nature Reserve is located in the south of the East European plain, in the Manych River valley. The dominant geological feature of the reserve is Lake Manych-Gudilo, a saltwater reservoir which is surrounded be dry steppe and semi-desert landscape. The lake is long and narrow, occupying a portion of the Manych trough between the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea; this long depression is the remains of what was once a sea connection between the Black and Caspian Seas.
The Caspian turtle (Mauremys caspica), although found in neighboring areas, is a wholly freshwater species. The zebra mussel is native to the Caspian and Black Sea basins, but has become an invasive species elsewhere, when introduced. The area has given its name to several species, including the Caspian gull and the Caspian tern. The Caspian seal (Pusa caspica) is the only aquatic mammal and is endemic to the Caspian Sea, being one of very few seal species that live in inland waters, but it is different from the those inhabiting freshwaters due to the hydrological environment of the sea.
The city is located on the bank of the Kama River upon hilly terrain. The Kama is the main tributary of the Volga River and is one of the deepest and most picturesque rivers of Russia. This river is the waterway which grants the Ural Mountains access to the White Sea, Baltic Sea, Sea of Azov, Black Sea, and Caspian Sea. The Kama divides the city into two parts: the central part and the right bank part. The city stretches for along the Kama and across it. The city street grid parallels the Kama River, traveling generally east-west, while other main streets run perpendicularly to those following the river. The grid pattern accommodates the hills of the city where it crosses them.