Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is situated in South Siberia. Its maximum depth is 1637 m, it is the deepest lake in the world. It is said that it contains approximately one fifth of all the earth’s fresh water. The lake has about 1963 km of shoreline, making it the third largest lake on the Eurasian continent. The crescent-shaped lake is 636 km long and varies in width from about 14 to 80 km.

The lake is fed by the Selenga, Barguzin, and Verkhnaya Angara rivers and by more than 300 mountain streams. The only outlet is the Lower Angara, which flows west from the lake into the Yenisey River. The Baikal, Barguzin, Stanovoy and other mountain ranges surround the lake. Lake Baikal has several islands, the largest of which is Olkhon. Nizhneangarsk and Listvyanka are ports on the lake.

Baikal is known for the remarkable clarity of its waters and for the great diversity of its plant and animal life. The majority of species found in the lake are endemic. The sturgeon, salmon, and freshwater-seal fisheries of the lake are valuable, and large quantities of other fish are also caught. Petroleum wells and mineral and hot springs are found in the vicinity. The southern shores of the lake are inhabited by the Buryats.

The Russian discovery of Lake Baikal in 1643 provided an important link in the trade route between Russia and China, connecting Listvyanka with points east to the Mongolian frontier via the Selenga River and tributaries. In the 1950s and 1960s, much of the unique plant and animal life in Baikal was badly affected when refuse from a pulp- and papermaking complex on the southern shore was deposited in the lake. During the 1970s efforts were made to reduce pollution and clean the lake’s waters. A ban on fishing, imposed from 1969 to 1977, restored the numbers of many species.

<== попередня сторінка	\|	наступна сторінка ==>
Siberia	\|	Angara – The Daughter of Baikal

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