Which river is the Caspian Sea's largest inflow?

The Volga River is the Caspian Sea’s largest inflow.

Europe’s longest river enters the Caspian at its shallow northern end through a broad delta in Russia’s Astrakhan region. It supplies about 80% of the sea’s total river inflow, far exceeding the contributions of the Ural, Kura, Terek and other rivers.

The Caspian is an endorheic basin: it has no natural river outlet to the world’s oceans. Water leaves mainly through evaporation, so river discharge strongly affects its level, salinity and ecology. Despite its name, the Caspian is commonly classified as the world’s largest lake, although its brackish water and immense size give it sea-like characteristics.

A common mix-up is the Ural River, which is also a major Caspian tributary and reaches the sea from the north. The Kura is important in the western basin, but neither approaches the Volga’s inflow volume.