Kazakh: Түлен аралдары | |
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Islands of the Tyuleniy Archipelago
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Location of the Tyuleniy Archipelago in the Caspian Sea. | |
Geography | |
Location | Caspian Sea, |
Coordinates | 44°55′N 50°22′E / 44.917°N 50.367°E |
Area | 130 km2 (50 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 2 m (7 ft) |
Administration | |
Region | Mangystau Region |
Demographics | |
Population | 5 |
The Tyuleniy Archipelago, Kazakh: Түлен аралдары Tülen Araldary, Russian: Тюленьи острова is an island group in the north-eastern Caspian Sea located off the Mangyshlak Bay west of the Mangyshlak Peninsula and about 13 kilometres (8.1 miles) NW of the Tupkaragan Peninsula, 27 kilometres (17 miles) north of Bautino. Perhaps the most substantial group of islands in the Caspian, they were first accurately cartographed by Fedor Ivanovich Soimonov who led the 1719 Caspian Expedition, studying the Caspian Sea from 1719 to 1727.
Administratively, the Tyuleniy Archipelago belongs to the Mangystau Region of Kazakhstan.
The islands are desert-like and sandy, with little grass. There are reeds on the leeward side of Kulaly as well as on the other islands, which are much lower and waterlogged. Many Caspian seals come to the islands' shores, hence their name "Tyuleniy", which means "seal".
The islands have been declared an IBA and a National Protected Zone (State Reservation). There are large concentrations of seagulls and wetland birds, like coots, wild ducks, swans, egrets and waders, in the archipelago during their nesting period. The Tyuleniy island group is also an important breeding ground for the Sandwich tern (Sterna sandvicensis).