Which sea is the world's largest inland body of water?

Which sea is the world's largest inland body of water? The Caspian Sea. Despite its name, the Caspian is an enclosed water body with no natural outlet to the world’s oceans, so it is also widely described as the world’s largest lake by surface area.

The Caspian lies between Europe and Asia and has coastlines in five countries: Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. Its main freshwater source is the Volga River, which supplies roughly 80 percent of the inflow. Water leaves primarily through evaporation, making the basin endorheic, or internally drained.

The Caspian is not freshwater. Its average salinity is about 1.2 percent, roughly one-third that of typical seawater, although salinity varies considerably between its northern and southern sections. The shallow northern basin receives substantial river inflow, while the southern basin is much deeper.

The sea is famous for sturgeon and caviar, as well as major oil and gas resources. Its water level has fluctuated repeatedly over time, and modern environmental pressures include pollution, river damming, habitat loss and climate-driven changes in evaporation.