ABSTRACT
The Caspian Sea is the largest inland sea in the world. A long, sinuous stretch of water, it spans the imaginary divide between Asia and Europe. Landlocked, its sole links to an open sea are via river and canal. The sea is today bordered by five independent states: along the north west, by the Russian Federation (including the constituent republics of Daghestan and Kalmykia), the north east by Kazakhstan, the south east by Turkmenistan, the south by Iran and the south west by Azerbaijan.
