Many rivers empty into the Caspian Sea and all form deltas. The Ural River and Volga River deposit large amounts of sediment and fresh water, which is why the water is shallower and less salty in the north. The south is further away from fresh water sources and has a salt content about a third that of seawater. The largest concentrations of salts are the eastern part of the sea in Garabogaz Bay, where the evaporation rate is high, the water is shallow, the salt content is 10 times higher than saltwater and there are accumulations of salt that are six feet (two meters) deep.
