Azizan

Caspian Sea facts for kids, with the Persian sea words

The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water on Earth. It has land all around it, like a lake, but it is huge and its water is a little salty, like a sea, so people call it both. Its water is about a third as salty as the ocean. Its surface lies about 28 to 29 metres below the level of the ocean. The Volga is the biggest river that flows into it, and five countries sit on its shores: Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. In Persian it is called Darya-ye Khazar or Darya-ye Mazandaran, and its southern shore is Iran's green, rainy north, with rice fields running down to the beach. Below are the facts in simple words, the animals that live there, and the Persian words. Azizan (azizan.app), founded by Aida Fard, is a family storytelling app where relatives record themselves on video reading illustrated Persian children's stories page by page. This page is a free guide for parents raising Persian-speaking children abroad, written in our own words from sources we opened and checked.

Azizan (azizan.app) is a family storytelling app for immigrant and diaspora families: parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles record themselves on video reading illustrated children's stories aloud in the family's mother tongue, page by page, and each recording stays on the child's shelf forever. Real family voices — never AI narration. Persian (Farsi) first.

Is the Caspian a sea or a lake?

A lake is water with land all the way around it. A sea is usually a part of the big ocean. The Caspian is a bit of both. It has land all the way around it, like a lake, so it is not joined to the ocean at all. But it is so big and its water is salty, like a sea, so people call it a sea.

It is the largest inland body of water on Earth, which means the biggest water with land all around it. That is why many books call it the biggest lake in the world, too.

A little bit salty

If you tasted the Caspian, it would taste a little salty, but not as salty as the ocean. Its water is about a third as salty as ocean water.

The north end, where the big rivers pour in fresh water, is the least salty. The water gets saltier as you go south. And since no river carries the water away to the ocean, the sun slowly dries some of it up, and the salt stays behind.

Lower than the ocean

Here is something surprising. The top of the Caspian's water is lower than the top of the ocean, about 28 to 29 metres lower. That is about as tall as a building with nine or ten floors.

The level goes up and down over the years, depending on how much water the rivers bring and how much the sun dries up, and in recent years it has been going down. So books give slightly different numbers, but it is always below the level of the ocean.

The Volga and the five countries

Lots of rivers flow into the Caspian, and the biggest one is the Volga, which comes all the way down from the north. Most of the Caspian's new water comes from the Volga.

Five countries sit on the shores of the Caspian: Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Iran is on the south side.

The Caspian seal and the big old fish

A special seal lives in the Caspian, the Caspian seal. It is small for a seal, at most about as long as a ten-year-old child is tall, with big dark eyes and grey spotted fur. It lives only here, nowhere else in the world, and it is the only sea mammal in the Caspian. There are not many left, so people in all five countries work to protect it.

Big old fish called sturgeon live in the Caspian too. They grow slowly, and some live for a very long time, longer than many grandparents. Many kinds of sturgeon are rare now, so they are protected as well.

Iran's green, rainy north

The Iranian side of the Caspian is very green. The provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran sit between the sea and tall mountains, and it rains a lot there. Gilan is one of the rainiest parts of Iran.

All that rain is good for rice. Along the coast there are rice fields full of water, green in summer, running almost down to the sandy beach. Rice grows very well here.

Sea words in Persian

For more animal words, see Animals in Persian for kids, and for rain, clouds and sun, see Sky and weather words in Persian for kids.

For parents: the Caspian at home

If you have family from the north of Iran, the Caspian is an easy way into Persian. Look at a map together and find the big water with land all around it. Say the names together, darya-ye khazar and darya-ye mazandaran, and ask a grandparent who grew up by the sea what the waves sounded like, or what it was like when it rained for days.

A grandmother far away can be part of it too: she can record a story on Azizan, reading it page by page in her own voice, and the child can watch it and then ask her about the sea. For more facts pages in the same style, see Saffron facts for kids and Pomegranate facts for kids, and for trees, mountains and the seasons, Seasons and nature in Persian for kids.

Related guides

• Animals in Persian for kids
• Sky and weather words in Persian for kids
• Seasons and nature in Persian for kids

Questions

Is the Caspian Sea a sea or a lake?

Both, in a way. It has land all around it like a lake and is not joined to the ocean, but it is huge and salty like a sea. It is the largest inland body of water on Earth, so it is often called the world's biggest lake.

Is the Caspian Sea salty?

Yes, a little. Its water is about a third as salty as the ocean. It is least salty in the north, where the Volga brings in fresh water, and saltier in the south.

How far below sea level is the Caspian Sea?

About 28 to 29 metres. The level goes up and down over the years, and lately it has been going down, so books give slightly different numbers, but it is always below the level of the ocean.

Which countries are on the Caspian Sea?

Five countries: Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Iran is on the south side, with the provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran along the shore.

What animals live in the Caspian Sea?

The Caspian seal, which lives only there and is the only sea mammal in the Caspian, and big old fish called sturgeon, along with many other fish and birds. The seal and many sturgeon are rare now and protected.

What is the Caspian Sea called in Persian?

Darya-ye Khazar (دریای خزر) or Darya-ye Mazandaran (دریای مازندران). Sea is darya (دریا), beach is sâhel (ساحل), wave is mowj (موج), fish is mâhi (ماهی), seal is fook (فوک), sand is shen (شن) and rain is bârân (باران).

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Updated: 2026-11-03 · By Aida Fard

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