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The Atlas of Caspian Sea Hydromorphology
coast is rugged. In this place, the coastal plain narrows and its width
reaches to 1 or 2 km. Also, the main part of coast in this region is
shaped from the upper layer of Khvalinskian sedimentary terrace.
The sedimentary terraces in the south of cape Amia, instead of the
present coastal strip, are erosional and composed of Maykop. These
terraces are of sedimentary type and in the south of Yashma village
they turn to sedimentary erosional type. The shoreline in the west-
ern area of Caspian Sea is straight and flat, except from the Ab-
sheron peninsula region in where a compound series of synclines
and arching cut the coastline. In the south of Pirsagat Island cape,
the coastal plain downfalls and changes to Novocaspian uniform
zone. Although, the presence of mud volcano mouths and shore
ridges disrupts this balance.
Kura Delta has severely progressed toward the sea and is considered
as an important morphological component of the Caspian Sea
southwest coast. The coast in the south of Lankaran is in shape of a
marine plain and is connected to the present sand coast. This coast is
restricted by strips of sand ridges in westward. Within the limit of
Iran’s coastal strip, the Alborz Mountains range approaches the
coast, so that the coast width narrows down and the breadth of the
coastal strip reaches to 2 to 40 km.
In the Iranian coasts of Caspian Sea, there are two big bays: Gorgan
Bay (former Astarabad) and Anzali bay and there are Ashooradeh
great island; and some small islands. The southern part of Caspian
Sea, with the catchment area of about 174200 km
2
, includes the
northern skirts of Alborz mountains range and the mountains in
north of Azerbaijan and Khorasan where rivers are flowing towards
