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The Atlas of Caspian Sea Hydromorphology
the Caspian sea. These areas generally have a steep slope and the lati-
tude difference between the highest part (Damavand summit) and
the surface of Caspian Sea is about 5700 meters.
Generally, in the catchment area of the southern part of Caspian sea
there are 13 rivers with the catchment area of more than 1000 km
2
,
among them Aras with 5 main tributaries and 7 small tributaries, and
Sefidrood with 11 main tributaries and 10 small tributaries are the
largest rivers. There are also 42 small rivers and flood channels with
the surface area of less than 1000 km
2
in this area.
In view of structural geomorphology, the southern part of Caspian
Sea in north-south ward includes three areas of southern trough, the
coastal plain, and the northern skirts of Alborz Mountains. The main
factors which cause in creation of these three geomorphological
structures are moving mood of great Mazandaran fault, the southern
trough subsidence, and the development of sedimentation process in
this area.
In the east-west ward, the southern part of Caspian Sea is divided into
four regions based on structural geology features, stratigraphy units
and geomorphological properties. The eastern coast of middle
Caspian in the area between Tiob-Karagan peninsula and Ghare
Boghaz Bay is of erosional type. In the south of cape Kenderli, the
coast is step shaped and often erosional
.
Within the limit of the western Turkmen plain, the marine coast is
composed of Novocaspian sediments. In this area, the high sand
dunes are extended along the coast and from the seaward side they
end in torrential coast. At the back of these dunes there are salt
