, image_name = Ogurchinsky_caspian.jpg , image_caption = 19th-century Russian map of Ogurchinskiy Island , image_size = , map_image = Caspian5OGU.png , map_caption = Location of Ogurja Ada in the Caspian Sea , 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 A ...

, coordinates = , area_km2 = 45 , length_km = 42 , width_km = 1.5 , highest_mount = , elevation_m = , population = No permanent residents , population_as_of = , density_km2 = , country =

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

, 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 an ...

, country_admin_divisions =

Balkan Province Balkan Region ( tk, Balkan welaýaty, Балкан велаяты) is the westernmost of the five regions of Turkmenistan. Clockwise from north it borders Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan (north); two provinces of Turkmenistan (east), Iran (south), ...

Ogurja Ada (sometimes also spelt "Ogurga") is the largest island in both

and the

by area. Ogurja Island is also widely known by its

Russian name Eastern Slavic naming customs are the traditional way of identifying a person's given name and patronymic name in Russia and some countries formerly part of the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union. They are commonly used in Russia, Belarus, U ...

Ogurchinskiy Island ''(Ostrov Ogurchinskiy)''.

Geography

Ogurja is a

desert island A desert island, deserted island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereo ...

that lies not far from the coast in the southeastern Caspian Sea. It is located 17 km SSW of the southern tip of the

Cheleken Peninsula The Cheleken Peninsula (russian: Челекен полуостров) is a peninsula located in western Turkmenistan, in the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea. The city of Hazar, former Cheleken, is located in the peninsula, which belongs admini ...

. Ogurja Ada is very long and narrow. It runs from north to south, having a length of 42 km and a maximum width of 1.5 km. It is made up of low sand dunes, mostly covered with grass and bushes. The northern end, which was formerly a compact mass, was broken up into smaller islets by wave action. The island has no permanent settlements owing to the lack of fresh water. Between the 15th and the 17th centuries, Ogurchinskiy was a refuge for pirates and wayfarers and, later, was a

leper colony A leper colony, also known by many other names, is an isolated community for the quarantining and treatment of lepers, people suffering from leprosy. ''M. leprae'', the bacterium responsible for leprosy, is believed to have spread from East Afr ...

. Administratively Ogurja Ada belongs to the

(Balkan Welaýaty) of Turkmenistan.

Ecology

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 ...

s ''(Pusa caspica)'' and varied marine birds inhabit the island. Ogurja Ada is part of the

Hazar Nature Reserve Hazar Nature Reserve is a nature reserve ('' zapovednik'') of Turkmenistan. It is located on the south-east coast of the Caspian Sea, in Balkan Province and covers an area of 2,690 km2. Ogurjaly Sanctuary Ogurjaly Sanctuary is a sanctuary ...

of Turkmenistan.Hazar Reserve
/ref> Stamps of Turkmenistan, 1993 - Caspian seal (Phoca caspica) on sand, 500

References

External links

Islands of the Caspian Sea Balkan Region Islands of Turkmenistan {{Turkmenistan-geo-stub