People call Lake Baikal the Galapagos of Russia. The world’s largest fresh water lake, it contains 20% of the world unfrozen fresh water, which makes it the world’s largest lake by volume. You'll find Lake Baikal in south central Siberia near the Mongolian border. If the lake were emptied and all the other fresh water rivers of the world ran into the empty lake, it would take one year to fill it back up again. It contains more water than all five of the Great Lakes combined

It not only is the world’s oldest lake at 20 to 25 million years, but it is the world’s deepest lake, 5,315 feet or 1,620 meters — over a mile deep. With a length of 636 km and an average width of 48 km, Lake Baikal covers an area of 31,500 square kilometers.

Fed by 336 rivers and streams run into the lake, its only outflow is the Angara River, a tributary of the Yenisey River.

The water is clear and pure with a very low salt content. Unlike other lakes, whose bottoms are dead, Lake Baikal's deep waters are blanketed in oxygen. Thermal springs at the bottom of the lake stir the lake and prevent the stratification that usually results in the bottom being starved of oxygen. The lake contains over 2,000 unique species including the world's only freshwater seal. For this reason, it is called the Galapagos of Russia. It is surrounded by dense beautiful forests that have only recently been harvested.

In addition to the lake's water clarity and abundant variety of life, it is also very cold with an average temperature of 4° C.

Lake Baikal was discovered by Russians moving eastward in 1643 and became an important trade link between Russia and China but has not been the source of an influx of people. It is still very isolated although it can be reached by railroad. The ice freezes to a thickness of about a meter in winter and briefly the Trans-Siberian Railway was run over its surface in winter.

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Contents copyright 2004 by Dr. A. V. Persson and ParaComp, Inc. All rights reserved.

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