Aral–Caspian Depression

The Aralo - Caspian lowlands is a large depression in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan ( Asia).

Designation

There are several alternative names are in use, the Aral-/Aralo-/Aralisch each consisting of a combination of ingredients, and Kaspi-/Kaspo-/Kaspisch Bassin/Becken/Bodensenkung/Depression/Einsenkung/Erdsenke/Senke/Niederung/Tiefebene/Tiefland/Vertiefung exist, such as " Aral - Caspian depression ."

Geography

The Aralo - Caspian lowland consists of the large Caspian Sea basin, for example, the large Caspian Sea and the adjoining wetlands are located in the, and from the lowlands around the remains of the Aral Sea. Between these lakes is located in Turkmenistan and Uskekistan in Sarykamysch sink another lake, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the Ustyurt plateau (up to 370 m) and in Kazakhstan the Mangyshlak plateau (up to 555 m). On the southern edge of the valley of the Great Balkan rises in Turkmenistan ( to 1880 m).

Depression

Due to the aforementioned plateau-like ridge, located between the two lakes, the area of Aralo - Caspian depression is not completely a depression, ie a level below the sea level field, but only as historical or colloquial term for the entire low-lying Greater understand.

However, are located in the valleys between the plateaus mentioned above some provincial offices, which still partly well below sea level: West of the Ustyurt Plateau is a 70 m deep site, southwest and south of the Aral Sea covered the terrain in two different places to 45 m and 80 m below the sea. The deepest point is located in the Caspian Sea basin already mentioned. It lies on the Caspian Sea in the protruding Mangghystau Peninsula southeast of Aktau, where the site is located 132 m below the 0 meter contour line in the Karagije sink.

History

To and shortly after the end of the Ice Ages - as the huge masses of ice of the glaciers abtauten - formed the Aralo - Caspian lowlands to the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea and other smaller lakes a great sea which is connected via the Manytsch lowlands to the Azov and the Black Sea had. For this sea some islands and islets stood out - for example, at Ustyurt and Mangyshlak Plateau and the Great Balkan. A connection to the Mediterranean and thus to the World Sea was formed according to Canadian researchers only ten to twelve thousand years.

Decreased only when the results from the vanishing ice of glacier water influx and the Manytsch valley was filled with sediments that Aralo - Caspian lowland lost the connection to the Black Sea. In the following period, the water level fell due to the increasing heating or evaporation from further so that the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea remained as individual lakes. Also, most valleys between the former, the aforementioned islands and islets were filled with sediments.