The '''Caspian Sea''' ({{lang-az|Xəzər dənizi}}, {{lang-fa|دریای خزر ''Daryā-i Xazar'', دریای کاسپین ''Daryā-i Kāspyan'' or دریای مازندران ''Daryā-i Māzandarān''}}, {{lang-az|Xəzər dənizi}}, {{lang-ru|Каспийское море}}, {{lang-kk|Каспий теңізі}}, {{lang-tk|Hazar deňizi}}) is the largest enclosed inland [[body of water]] on [[Earth]] by area, variously classed as the [[List of lakes by area|world's largest lake]] or a full-fledged [[sea]].<ref name=web1>{{cite web|title=Caspian Sea - Background|url=http://www.caspianenvironment.org/newsite/Caspian-Background.htm|publisher=Caspian Environment Programme|accessdate=11 September 2012|year=2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title =ESA: Observing the Earth – Earth from Space: The southern Caspian Sea |publisher = ESA.int| url = http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEM5GYTLWFE_index_0.html|accessdate = 2007-05-25}}</ref> The sea has a surface area of {{Convert|371000|km2|mi2|-2|abbr=on}} (not including [[Garabogazköl Aylagy]]) and a volume of {{Convert|78200|km3|mi3|-2|abbr=on}}.<ref name="LakeNet">[http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8762 Lake Profile: Caspian Sea]. ''LakeNet.''</ref> It is in an [[endorheic basin]] (it has no outflows) and is bounded to the northwest by [[Russia]], to the west by [[Azerbaijan]], to the south by [[Iran]], to the southeast by [[Turkmenistan]], and to the northeast by [[Kazakhstan]].
The ancient inhabitants of its [[littoral]] perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and seeming boundlessness. It has a [[salinity]] of approximately 1.2%, about a third the salinity of most [[seawater]].
