Animated satellite image of the Volga Delta as the river meets the Caspian Sea. North is at top. Vegetation on delta sediment is green, water is black blue, and more barren salt flats are pink. This is the eastern part of the Volga Delta, an extensive set of deposits and hundreds of water channels where the Volga River flows into the Caspian Sea. The delta sustains the most productive fishing grounds in Eurasia. The salt flats have been formed by the drying of the Caspian Sea, accompanied by an increase in the size of the Volga Delta. The area shown in this image is around 100 kilometres wide. The image data includes infrared wavelengths, and was obtained on 29 August 1999, by the Landsat 7 satellite.