Caspian Depression

Caspian Depression (Russian prikaspiyskaya nizmennost'), a lowland region which straddles the boundary between Europe and Asia and which contains some of the lowest elevations in either continent. The depression is located to the north of the Caspian Sea. It has an area of about 190 sq km (about 74 sq mi). The depression declines from a maximum height of about 146 m (about 479 ft) to about 28 m (about 92 ft) below sea level. It is traversed by the Volga, Ural, Zhem, Terek, and Kuma rivers. Numerous intermittent streams and rivers are also found here. At various times in its geologic past the depression was inundated by the Caspian Sea, which separated from the Black Sea about one million years ago. A large natural gas deposit was discovered in the Caspian Depression near the city of Astrakhan’’ in 1976. The depression, which is located in Kazakhstan and Russia, is used primarily for livestock raising.