The climate and landscape around the Caspian Sea varies greatly. On the northern side the weather is cold in the winter and the vegetation is sparse and mostly grass, particularly on the east of the shore. In the south the climate is tropical and large amounts of sugarcane is grown. There are great swaths of undeveloped coastline, particularly on the eastern shore in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, where the water is clear and blue and camels can be spotted in the seaside dunes. Pollution is a problem around the oil fields of Baku and in the southern reaches of the lake.
