CASPIAN SEA. 



<a might term to offer as plausible a solution of them 

 as any other. It "has accordingly been strenuously 

 ' asserted, both in ancient and in modern times, and 

 various arguments have been adduced in support of 

 it. Two of these are as follows : The Caspian, it 

 has been observed, rises very high with a westerly 

 wind, whereas the Euxine, on the contrary, rages most 

 when the wind is at east. It has hence been inferred, 

 that the east wind favours the exit of the waters of 

 the Caspian, and the West wind impedes it. It has, 

 in the second place, been alleged, that there is a 

 whirlpool in a particular part of this sea, by which 

 all its superfluous water is, with a tremendous noise, 

 discharged into the Euxine ; and it has been asserted, 

 that near to the mouth of the vortex, there is found 

 a species of sea weed, which grows only on the shores 

 of the Caspian ; that a sort of fish peculiar to the 

 xine has been observed in the Caspian sea, near to 

 place of the supposed vortex ; and lastly, that in 

 >rmer days, a fish was taken in that sea with a golden 

 ing about its tail, on which was this inscription, 

 Mitkridates mihi dabat in urbe Sinope libertatem et 

 hoc doitum." But as to the first of these arguments, 

 it is to be observed, that the connection attempted to 

 be traced between the character and effects of parti- 

 cular winds and a subterraneous communication be- 

 tween the Euxine and the Caspian seas, does not 

 seem to rest upon any satisfactory grounds. In fact, 

 it is known that all winds that bring with them hu- 

 mid vapours, are more stormy than those which pro- 

 ceed from arid regions ; and this circumstance is plain- 

 ly sufficient, without any reference to causes, the ex- 

 istence of which is unknown, to account for the great- 

 er agitation produced in the Caspian by winds co- 

 ming towards it in the direction of the Euxine and 

 the Palus Maeotis, than is caused by the eastern 

 winds, which, in their approach to it, pass over a 

 great extent only of dry, and even parched land. Of 

 the whirlpool alluded to, it is enough to say, that we* 

 find no notice taken of it in the latest accounts 

 which we have relative to those parts. Sea-weed 

 grows every where along the shores of this sea ; but 

 we know nothing of any particular description of this 

 kind of plants which grows only there.* We would 

 require also more particular information as to the 

 fUhes that are said to be found only in the Caspian 

 and the Euxine seas. The story which Kircher, in 

 his Mnndus Subtcrraneus, introduces respecting the 

 fish with the ring, is unworthy of notice. 



It has likewise been conceived, that the concealed 

 communication is between the Caspian sea and the 

 Gulf of Persia ; and in proof of this it has been al- 

 leged, that there were every year seen floating on the 

 water in the vicinity of Ormus, a great quantity of 

 willow leaves, of which kind of tree, those who make 

 the remark say, that a great abundance grows in the 

 environs of the Caspian, but none in the interior of 

 Persia. The Tigris, however, it is known, receives a 

 great number of rivers from the quarter of Curdistan 

 and the frontiers of Media, in which places this 

 tree is sufficiently frequent. It occurs also about 

 Bagdad, and perhaps also in the more southern part 



of Persia. And, were they supposed to be con- 

 vi-yrd by the Uiala, or the little Zarb, these leave* 

 would have a shorter course towards the place of 

 their destination than that which i assigned to them. 



The phenomena of the Caspian Sea have like- 

 wise been ascribed to the quality of the bottom, 

 which consists not of a thick slime but of a 

 shell sand, the particles of which, touching only 

 in few points, render it very porous. The whole 

 shore nearly is formed of a similar substance, 

 which layer upon layer, lies here to the depth of 

 three fathoms. Through this sand, it has been al- 

 leged that the water is filtered, and falls into the 

 abyss beneath in the same quantity which flows into 

 rhe sea. In the bay of Emba, it is added, above the 

 river Yaik, the water is not let through, the conse- 

 quence of which is, that it stagnates in that particu- 

 lar part of the lake, even the fishes putrefying, and 

 the exhalations being extremely noxious. 



It has been observed, that the districts extending in Ancient i- 

 different directions from the Caspian are sandy and sa- 

 line, and present the same shells that are found in the 

 channel of that sea, but which, at the same time, are of 

 a very different character from those met with in the 

 beds of the rivers, that did formerly, or do now, run in 

 those parts. Sea salt also occurs in the same tracts, 

 in beds of great depth, and in such quantity as to 

 prevent all vegetation, besides that of marine plants. 

 Salt marshes are another distinguishing feature in 

 this quarter ; and, generally, from the appearance of 

 the ground here, the small degree of its elevation, 

 and the nature of the substances which either form 

 the constituent parts of the prevalent soil, or present 

 themselves in a more occasional manner in or upon 

 it, there seems reason to infer, that that sea at one 

 period reached beyond the limits within which it is at 

 present contained. The conclusion to which we are 

 naturally led by these appearances, coincides, at the 

 same time, with the results of certain historical no- 

 tices which have been transmitted to us, as well as 

 with what we know of the determination of ancient 

 geographers respecting the position and the bounda- 

 ries of this sea. Thus Ptolemy, it is known, gave 

 to it an extent of 23| degrees, from west to east, and 

 made it advance 3 more to the north than it does at 

 present ; and, in the Byzantine historians, we find 

 mention made of an extensive marsh, that even in the 

 fifth century occupied a large portion of the tract of 

 ground which lies to the north of Caucasus, and be- 

 tween the Caspian sea on the one hand, on the other 

 the Euxine. Hence it appears probable, that in 

 remote times, long prior to the era of our most 

 ancient historical details, the Caspian Sea extended, 

 in a north-west direction, beyond the Mantysch and 

 the Sarpa ; towards the north, over all the plaint 

 that are watered by the Volga, the Yaik, and the 

 Emba ; that it was united to the lake of Aral ; and 

 that it covered a part of the plains of Great Tartary. 

 These suppositions being admitted, it may, in connec- 

 tion with them, be allowed, that in the time of Pto- 

 lemy the Caspian Sea had an extent somewhat great* 

 er than it has at present, though certainly not so 



Amongst the sea-weed of this quarter there occurs in some parts a great profusion of the plants proper for the manu- 

 faclure of soda, an object which might be attended to here with much advantage. Pallas's TraveU, vol. L p. 993, 

 VOL. V. PART U if 



