Caspian Sea of around 149,200 square miles (386,400 square km)— bigger than the region of Japan—and its surface lies somewhere in the range of 90 feet (27 meters) below sea level. The sea bed in the southern part reaches as low as 1,023 m (3,356 ft) below sea level, which is the second lowest natural depression on earth after Lake Baikal (−1,180 m, −3,871 ft). The ancient inhabitants of its coast perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness and large size. The sea has a surface area of 371,000 km (143,200 sq mi) (not including the detached
Esslingen (district) the district administrators house. The district is cut into two halves by the river Neckar. The west part is part of the Filder plain, while the east is part of the mountains of the Swabian Alb ("Schwäbische Alb") and the Schurwald (part of the Swabian-Franconian mountain range). At Plochingen the Fils flows into the Neckar river which leaves the district near Esslingen-Mettingen heading towards Stuttgart. With 229 m above sea level the water level of the Neckar near Mettingen represents the districts lowest Point. The highest point is located 830 m above SL in the Brucker Hölzle near Bissingen-Ochsenwang. The