Ogurja Ada

Ogurja Ada (sometimes also spelt "Ogurga") is the largest island in both Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea by area. Ogurja Island is also widely known by its Russian name Ogurchinskiy Island (Ostrov Ogurchinskiy).

Ogurchinskiy Island

Turkmen: Ogurjaly adasy
19th-century Russian map of Ogurchinskiy Island
Location of Ogurja Ada in the Caspian Sea
Geography
Location	Caspian Sea
Coordinates	39°03′39″N 53°02′36″E
Area	45 km2 (17 sq mi)
Length	42 km (26.1 mi)
Width	1.5 km (0.93 mi)
Administration
Turkmenistan
Region	Balkan Province
Demographics
Population	No permanent residents

Geography

Ogurja is a desert island 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.^[1]

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,^[2] was broken up into smaller islets by wave action.^[3]

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.^[4] Administratively Ogurja Ada belongs to the Balkan Province (Balkan Welaýaty) of Turkmenistan.

Environment

Caspian seal (Pusa caspica)

Caspian seals (Pusa caspica) and varied marine birds inhabit the island. Ogurja Ada is part of the Hazar Nature Reserve of Turkmenistan.^[5]

The island has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of gulls and terns. There is an isolated resident population of Chukar partridge.^[6]