The Baku Archipelago is a group of coastal islands close to

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

. The waters surrounding the islands are shallow.

Islands

Besides their Azeri name, most islands have a Russian name that originated in the first modern cartography of the Caspian Sea made by hydrographer Fedor I. Soimonov in the 18th century. The archipelago is made up of the following islands, in addition to a few small sandbanks.

Islands located in the bay

These are the islands within the

Bay of Baku Bay of Baku (Baku Bay) is a natural harbor of the Baku port and local yacht club, on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula and on the western shore of the Caspian Sea. Description It has an area of 50 km² and a coastline of 20&nb ...

perimeter: *

Boyuk Zira Boyuk Zira (Böyük Zirə), also known as Nargin, is an island in the Caspian Sea. It is one of the islands of Baku Archipelago located in the Baku bay near Baku city. Nargin Island is part of the Baku Archipelago, which consists of the follow ...

or Nargin * Dash Zira or

Vulf Vulf, or Volf , and also known as Dash Zira (Azeri: ''Daş Zirə'') or Kichik Zira ''(Kiçik Zirə)'', is an island of Azerbaijan, in the Caspian Sea. The word "Zira" originated in the Arabic word "Jazīra", meaning "island". Vulf is tiny and uni ...

Qum Qom (also spelled as "Ghom", "Ghum", or "Qum") ( fa, قم ) is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. Qom is the capital of Qom Province. It is located to the south of Tehran. At the 2016 census, its popul ...

or Peschanniy * Tava or Plita

Islands located off the bay

These islands are detached from the main group: * Chilov or Zhiloy * Sangi-Mugan or Svinoy *

Zanbil Zanbil ( az, Zənbil) is a small island in the Caspian Sea off the Bay of Baku, Azerbaijan. It is also known as Duvanni Island. Etymology The name Zanbil is Persian (زنبیل) and means "a big basket". The name "Duvanni" (Дуванный), me ...

or Duvanni *

Chikil Chikil ( az, Çigil adasi), also known as Oblivnoy, is an uninhabited island off the Bay of Baku, Azerbaijan. This island is part of the Baku Archipelago, which consists of the following islands: Boyuk Zira, Dash Zira, Qum Island or Peschanny, ...

or Oblivnoy *

Qara Su Qara may refer to: Places *Al Qara, a governorate in Al Bahah Region, Saudi Arabia *Qara, Syria, a Syrian city *Qara Oasis, Egypt Persons *Qara Iskander, ruled the Kara Koyunlu or Black Sheep Turcoman tribe from 1420 to 1436 *Qara Mahammad Töremi ...

or Los * Xara Zira or

Bulla Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to: Science and medicine * Bulla (dermatology), a bulla * Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung * Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear * Ethmoid bulla, pa ...

* Qutan and Baburi (the

Podvodnyye Islands The Podvodnyye Islands ( az, Qutan Adası and ''Baburi Adasi'') are a small island group off the Azerbaijan coast in the Caspian Sea. Geography The Podvodnyye are a cluster of islets extending for about 7 km in a NW - SE direction. The grou ...

) * Adsiz Ada or Bezymyannyy * Gil or Glinyanii * Kura Island or Kurinsky *

Kura Rock Kura Rock or Kura Stone (russian: Куринский Камень, ''Kurinskiy Kamen''; az, Kür daşı), is an islet off the coast of Azerbaijan. Geography Kura Rock is small islet with a maximum length of 0.18 km. It is located 13 k ...

or Kurinsky Kamen

Ecology

The vegetation of the islands in the Baku Archipelago has been quite damaged by the pollution caused by the

oil well An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas ma ...

s in the same bay, so that most islands are almost devoid of vegetation. Formerly this archipelago provided an ideal ecosystem for the

Caspian seal The Caspian seal (''Pusa caspica'', syn. ''Phoca caspica'') is one of the smallest members of the earless seal family and unique in that it is found exclusively in the brackish Caspian Sea. It lives along the shorelines, but also on the many roc ...

Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous, and are descended from other, earlier acipenseriform fish, which date back to the Early ...

s are still found where the waters are not too polluted. Certain birds that visit Baku Bay, like teal ducks,

herring gull Herring gull is a common name for several birds in the genus ''Larus'', all formerly treated as a single species. Three species are still combined in some taxonomies: * American herring gull (''Larus smithsonianus'') - North America * European h ...

s, and

grebes Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably i ...

find refuge in these islands that are uninhabited except for gas-extraction installations and a lighthouse. There is an automatic monitoring station for water pollution in the area located in Svinoy Island.

Tourism

Lately, tourism has been intensively developing in the Baku Archipelago. The Boyuk Zira island, of the islands located on the offshore of Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, is on its way to a major expansion. The island will be divided into several areas; a park, a residential area, a military port etc. The park will be fragmented from the other areas, as its areas are subjected to strong winds. Baku is famous for its Old City, and to commemorate this, old style house will be built within the town’s fortress. When it comes to religions, Azerbaijan is known as of the most tolerant countries in the world. A mosque, a church, and a synagogue are planned to be built. During the reign of the Soviet Union, Boyuk Zira has been known as a place where the Stalin’s prisoners were sent - to pay tribute to this, a common grave is set to be placed. Moreover, a mall, a school, and a clinic should be functioning on the island. Public events, such as summits, are projected to take place on the island. To ensue these, different venues including clubs and entertainment events are planned to take place on the other side of island, so that the residents will not be disturbed. This project has interested a lot of foreign investors, and a total of two to three billion manat ($255 000 000 - $382 000 000) has been set to implement this.

Construction and modernization

The Khazar Islands are a planned development of artificial islands 25 km (16 mi) south of Baku. According to Avesta management a new ''

Azerbaijan Tower The Azerbaijan Tower was a planned megatall skyscraper that had been intended to be constructed on the Khazar Islands, 25 km (16 mi) south of Baku, Azerbaijan. Overview The president of the Avesta Group of Companies, Ibrahim Ibra ...

'' will be 200 m higher than the current tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa. Besides business buildings and hotels, the project also promises to provide houses in capacity of 800.000 for its residents. According to Avesta, the project is planned to be completed by the period between 2020-2025.Azerbaijan Is Rich. Now It Wants to Be Famous
/ref>

References

External links

General informationOil extraction in the Baku Bay area and its ecological impact
{{Authority control Islands of Azerbaijan Islands of the Caspian Sea