, native_name = , image_name = Tyuleni-ostrova2.png , image_caption = Islands of the Tyuleniy Archipelago , image_size = , map_image = Caspian5TYU2.png , map_caption = Location of the Tyuleniy Archipelago in the Caspian Sea. , nickname = , location =

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

, , coordinates = , archipelago = , total_islands = , major_islands = , area_km2 = 130 , length_km = , width_km = , highest_mount = , elevation_m = 2 , population = 5 , population_as_of = , density_km2 = , ethnic_groups = , country =

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, country_admin_divisions_title =

Region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, country_admin_divisions =

Mangystau Region Mangystau ( kk, Маңғыстау облысы, Mañğystau oblysy; russian: Мангистауская область, Mangistauskaya oblast) is a Regions of Kazakhstan, region of Kazakhstan. Its capital is Aktau (a seaport), which has a popula ...

, country_admin_divisions_title_1 = , country_admin_divisions_1 = , additional_info = The Tyuleniy Archipelago ( kk, Түлен аралдары ''Tülen araldary'', russian: Тюленьи острова), is an island group in the north-eastern

off the Mangyshlak Bay west of the

Mangyshlak Peninsula Mangyshlak or Mangghyshlaq Peninsula ( kk, Маңғыстау түбегі, translit=Mañğystau tübegı; russian: Полуостров Мангышла́к, translit=Poluostrov Mangyshlák) is a large peninsula located in western Kazakhstan. It ...

and about northwest of the Tupkaragan Peninsula, north of

Bautino Bautino ( kz, Баутин, ''Bautin'', ''باۋتىين'') is a town in Mangystau Region, southwest Kazakhstan. It lies at an altitude of below sea level, on the coast of the Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body o ...

. Perhaps the most substantial group of islands in the Caspian, they were first accurately mapped 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

. It was named "Tyuleniy" —meaning "seal"— after the currently

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

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 ...

Islands

*Kulaly Island (Kulaly-Aral) is the westernmost and longest island, stretching from tip to tip. Its shape is slightly irregular, with inlets and headlands. There is a

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

station with a lighthouse and a Kazakh border guard post on this island, making it the only one in the group inhabited by man. The terrain on Kulaly is either arid or waterlogged and reed-covered. *Morskoy Island (Morskoy Aral) is the next island and the second largest island. It is also the biggest in area, with a length of and a maximum width of . This island consists mostly of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

. *Rybachy Island (formerly Ostrov Svyatoy) is long and narrow and is south of Morskoy. *Podgornyy Island is northeast of Rybachy.Podgornyy Island
/ref> *Novyy Island is the easternmost island. It is between Podgorny and the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

and used to have an irregular shape until about 2009. Recent pictures show that this island has eroded heavily.

Ecology

The islands are desert-like and sandy, with little grass. There are

reed Reed or Reeds may refer to: Science, technology, biology, and medicine * Reed bird (disambiguation) * Reed pen, writing implement in use since ancient times * Reed (plant), one of several tall, grass-like wetland plants of the order Poales * ...

s on the leeward side of Kulaly as well as on the other islands, which are much lower and waterlogged. In past centuries many Caspian seals come to the islands' shores, hence the name of the group. The islands have been declared an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

and a National Protected Zone (State Reservation). There are large concentrations of

seagull Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

s and wetland birds, like

coots Coots are medium-sized water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus ''Fulica'', the name being the Latin term for "coot". Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually ...

, wild ducks,

swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

s, and

wader 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

s in the archipelago during their nesting period. The Tyuleniy island group is also an important breeding ground for the

Sandwich tern The Sandwich tern (''Thalasseus sandvicensis'') is a tern in the family Laridae. It is very closely related to the lesser crested tern (''T. bengalensis''), Chinese crested tern (''T. bernsteini''), Cabot's tern (''T. acuflavidus''), and elegan ...

(''Sterna sandvicensis'').

References

External links

*
Geographic data
* Archipelagoes of Asia Seabird colonies Islands of the Caspian Sea Archipelagoes of Kazakhstan Important Bird Areas of Kazakhstan Islands of Kazakhstan {{Kazakhstan-geo-stub