Acquired June 4, 2010, this natural-color image shows the Caspian Sea and the varied land surfaces surrounding it.
Published Jun 12, 2010
A hazy plume drifted over the northern end of the Caspian Sea in early April 2008. The translucent plume swirling over the water contrasts with the nearby opaque white clouds. The plume might result partly from smoke from springtime agricultural fires in farmland north of the sea.
Published Apr 16, 2008
This view shows the sun reflecting off the surface waters that surround the spit that defines the Zaliv Kara-Bogaz-Gol from the open Caspian Sea. The sunglint reveals the flow of fresher water through the spit channel and into the bay.
Published Jul 14, 2002
Salt and algae color the landscape and water around this marsh that lies below global sea level.
Published Jun 11, 2012
On May 18, 2014, the Aqua satellite captured this image of dust blowing over southeastern Russia.
Published May 21, 2014
Multiple factors likely contribute to the formation of ice on the northern Caspian Sea.
Published Mar 30, 2013
The Volga River drains much of western Russia’s industrial region as it travels southward to empty into the Caspian Sea. Over thousands of years, the river has built a tremendous delta that forms the northwestern shoreline of the Caspian Sea. The delta channels provide transportation between the heartland of Russia and the oil-rich Caspian Sea. The Volga’s extensive distributaries (branches to the sea) harbor habitat and rich fishing grounds for Russia’s famous beluga sturgeon, the source of beluga caviar. The delta’s wetlands, parts of which are designated as the Astrakhanskiy Biosphere Reserve, are important stopping points and breeding grounds for migrating water birds. This detailed astronaut photograph zooms in on a shipping channel in the western part of the delta.
Published Oct 23, 2006
The southeast Caspian is marked by colorful swirls of perpetually turbid seawater.
Published Feb 4, 2018
The arrow-shaped island in the Aral Sea used to be a 35-kilometer-long visual marker, indicating the Aral Sea to astronauts. An image from the present International Space Station increment shows how much the coastline has changed as the sea level has dropped during the last three decades.
Published Aug 15, 2005
