# Are There Tides In The Caspian Sea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468 "2012-06-17T23:52:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/1 "2012-06-17T23:52:32Z")
It would seem so-it is a huge inland sea. But I notice that it is longer in the N-S direction than E-W…so possibly the tides raised by the moon would be small. Incidentally-was the Caspian Sea once connected with any of the oceans? ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/2 "2012-06-18T03:47:36Z")
I get asked this about Lake Michigan quite often. Theoretically, there are tides in your teacup. Whether they can be differentiated from normal waves is another matter. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/3 "2012-06-18T05:53:45Z")
Even the Mediterrranean, from what I can find, barely has tides, unlike the real ocean. Venice, for example, certainly does not have to deal with water level changes of 6 feet or more; maybe a extra foot or two during fall and spring neap tides. ---
**Author:** ![kombatminipig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5ac83/32.png) [@kombatminipig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kombatminipig)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/4 "2012-06-18T07:23:15Z")
I just happened to get home from a business trip to Baku. Anecdotal evidence naturally, but I didn’t notice any tidemarks on the shore there. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/5 "2012-06-18T12:54:38Z")
This article is much less helpful than I initally thought it would be. [Riddles of high and low tides in the Caspian Sea](http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=baku%20tides&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CFgQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.turkmenistan.ru%2F%3Fpage_id%3D12%26lang_id%3Den%26elem_id%3D15442%26type%3Devent%26sort%3Ddate_desc&ei=JiTfT7asGfGu2gXLse1G&usg=AFQjCNE6GoH9Oc_f9TiV2gnZDMbwaCZMtQ). My other research indicates there are really no significantly measurable tides in the Caspian; all tidal effects being easily within the range of normal wind/current changes. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/6 "2012-06-18T13:29:12Z")
Smaller bodies of water like the Great Lakes and presumably the Caspian Sea have a tide-like phenomena called a [seiche](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiche). They’re usually pretty small, but can occasionally raise or lower the water level 2 or 3 feet or more. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/7 "2012-06-18T13:42:33Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Smaller bodies of water like the Great Lakes and presumably the Caspian Sea have a tide-like phenomena called a [seiche](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seiche). They’re usually pretty small, but can occasionally raise or lower the water level 2 or 3 feet or more. It’s tide-like only because the water level can change; it’s not tide-like with respect to regularity or links to the Sun/Moon. Seiches are more of a factor if the lake is oriented towards the wind. Since the weather moves mostly from west to east around the Great Lakes, Erie meets that orientation the best. Lake Michigan is affected the least. Living on Lake Michigan, I’d notice a sudden 3 foot change in level pretty quickly, and I’ve never been aware of one. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/8 "2012-06-18T17:20:16Z")
The Great likes have tides, but they are smaller than the wind variation > **[Do the Great Lakes have tides?](https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gltides.html)** > > Water levels in the Great Lakes change because of weather effects, not tides. Brian ---
**Author:** ![dstarfire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dstarfire/32/5762_2.png) [@dstarfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dstarfire)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/9 "2012-06-18T22:48:41Z")
I’m sure there’s a formula out there that gives you average tidal change based on a body of waters’ east-west dimension. With that formula in hand, we’d know if current technology is sufficient to measure the theoretical tides in a teacup. Would make for a rather interesting research paper. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-tides-in-the-caspian-sea/625468/10 "2012-06-19T00:16:46Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > maybe a extra foot or two during fall and spring neap tides. Nitpick: that should just be “during [spring tides](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tide#Range_variation:_springs_and_neaps).” The season of the year doesn’t have anything to do with it, and neap tides are when the tidal variation is at the smallest.