Caspian Depression

Caspian Depression, Russian Prikaspiyskaya Nizmennost, flat lowland, Kazakhstan and Russia, much of it below sea level at the north end of the Caspian Sea. It is one of the largest such areas in Central Asia, occupying about 77,220 square miles (200,000 square km). Both the Ural and Volga rivers flow through the depression into the Caspian. Rainfall is sparse, from 6 to 8 inches (150 to 200 mm) in the south to about 12 inches in the north. Only isolated oases are intensively cultivated; there is some sheep grazing. The region includes the important Zhem River oil fields; large amounts of salt are also extracted.