Absheron Peninsula

The Absheron Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Azerbaijan that juts some 60 kilometres into the Caspian Sea, with the capital Baku on its southern coast. Its oil seeps and wells were exploited from the Middle Ages, and in the late 19th century it became one of the world's main oil-producing regions. It is known for its salt lakes, mud volcanoes and burning gas vents, as at Yanar Dag and the Ateshgah fire temple.