CASPIAN SEA, a large lake or inland sea between Europe and Asia, now nearly sur rounded by Russian territory but having Persia on the south; 730 miles in length from north to south, and from 130 to 270 in breadth; area about 170,000 square miles; the largest isolated sheet of water on the globe. The water is less salt than that of the ocean, of a bitter taste and of an ochre color, without ebb or flow. In some places it is exceedingly deep, yet it abounds in shallows, so as to prevent the navi gation of ships which draw more than 9 or 10 feet of water. The level of the Caspian Sea is considerably lower than that of the ocean. Among the rivers which flow into it are the Volga, Ural, Terek and Kur. In ancient times the Oxus (Amoo Daria) also flowed into it. It has no outlet. The fisheries here, which are very valuable, occupy and train many seamen. Sturgeons and sterlets are caught in great quantities, and there are also salmon trout, perch, Silurus giants, two kinds of carp and porpoises; seals abound in the upper coasts, and tortoises between the mouths of the Volga and the Ural. In the northern region the first
fishing season, called the caviar season, occurs between March and May, when the Volga, Ural, etc., are getting cleared of ice. The second season is in July, when the sturgeon descend the rivers; and the third open-sea fish ing goes on from September to November. The only ports at all worthy the name on or near the Caspian are Astrakhan, Baku, Derbend and Astrabad (in Persia). The navigation is at all times difficult and often perilous. Steam packets are now established on this sea. The Russians have also a fleet of war vessels in the Caspian, and a new naval station has been established at Krasnovodsk, on the east side of the sea. By means of river and canal there is water communication between the Caspian and the Black Sea, Baltic and White Sea.