Facts About Lake Baikal Summary
Lake Baikal is an ancient, massive lake in the mountainous Russian region of Siberia, north of the Mongolian border. Its age and isolation have produced one of the world’s richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science.
The lake contains an outstanding variety of endemic flora and fauna, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. It is also surrounded by a system of protected areas that have high scenic and other natural values.
Lake Baikal is a continental rift lake with primary inflows coming from the Selenga, Barguzin and Upper Angara rivers. It is surrounded by scenic mountain ranges and the Angara River is its only outflow. The lake contains a fifth of the entire planet’s freshwater supply.
Facts About Lake Baikal:
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Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world with a maximum depth of 1,632m.
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The first European to reach the lake is said to have been Kurbat Ivanov in 1643.
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Lake Baikal is the world’s largest volume of freshwater 23,000 cubic km.
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In March of 2010, Jim Denevan and his crew created a large scale artwork on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal, known as The spiral of circles.
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There are 27 islands in Lake Baikal.
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Baikal Lake’s coastline measures around 1300 miles.
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The lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.
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Lake Baikal is home to some of the most unique species of animals and plants, half of the species found on the lake are unique to it.
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One-fifth of all fresh body of water is located in this beautiful Lake.
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Water in the Lake Baikal is completely renewed approximately every 383 years.
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The region to the east of Lake Baikal is referred to as Transbaikalia, and the loosely defined region around it is sometimes known as Baikalia.
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The lake, nicknamed “the Pearl of Siberia”, drew investors from the tourist industry as energy revenues sparked an economic boom.
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Lake Baikal experiences around 2000 earthquakes per year.
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Lake Baikal is the deepest lake on earth. Its depth is 1,642 meters.
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The water level in Lake Baikal is 456 meters above sea level.
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The water of Lake Baikal is the most transparent of all freshwater lakes.
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In winter the ice of Lake Baikal develops cracks, which can reach up to 30 kilometers in length and up to 3 meters in width.
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Lake Baikal faces a series of detrimental phenomena including the disappearance of the omul fish, the rapid growth of putrid algae and the death of endemic species of sponges across its area.
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The ice road to Olkhon Island is the only legal ice road on Lake Baikal.
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In July 2008, Russia sent two small submersibles, Mir-1 and Mir-2, to descend 1,592 m (5,223 ft) to the bottom of Lake Baikal to conduct geological and biological tests on its unique ecosystem.
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Lake Baikal is the oldest lake in the world.
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It is home to approximately 1,700 to 1,800 endemic plant and animal species.
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Russian expansion into the Buryat area around Lake Baikal in 1628–58 was part of the Russian conquest of Siberia.
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The Trans-Siberian Railway was built between 1896 and 1902. Construction of the scenic railway around the southwestern end of Lake Baikal required 200 bridges and 33 tunnels.
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There are 236 species of birds that inhabit Lake Baikal.
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A special 1999 law in Russia spells out protection measures for Lake Baikal.
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Baikal’s age is estimated at 25–30 million years, making it the most ancient lake in geological history.
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Lake Baikal is the only confined freshwater lake in which direct and indirect evidence of gas hydrates exists.
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The Russian government is putting 26billion rubles into a clean-up program to fund treatment facilities.
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the lake is located in the southern part of eastern Siberia within the republic of Buryatia and Irkutsk oblast of Russia.
