<Tr> <Th> References </Th> <Td> </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Shore length is not a well - defined measure . </Td> </Tr> <P> The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full - fledged sea . It is in an endorheic basin (a basin without outflows) located between Europe and Asia . It is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast, Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the west, Iran to the south, and Turkmenistan to the southeast . </P> <P> The Caspian Sea presently lies about 28 m (92 ft) below sea level in the Caspian Depression, to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the vast steppe of Central Asia . The sea bed in the southern part reaches as low as 1023 m below sea level, which is the second lowest natural depression on earth after Lake Baikal (- 1180 m). The ancient inhabitants of its coast perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and large size . </P>

Is the caspian sea a lake or a sea