Lake Baikal - Russian Destinaions

Etymologically, in Mongolian, it means "Natural Lake".

It covers an area of ​​560,000 km2, a maximum length of 636 km, and a maximum width of 79 km. The average depth of the lake is 744.4 m, and the maximum depth is 1,642 m. The volume of water is 23,615.39 km3. The shore around the lake is 2,100 km long.

The age of Lake Baikal is estimated at 25-30 million years, which makes it the oldest lake in geological history. It is unique among large, wide lakes because its sediments have not been found across continental ice sheets. Russian, American, and Japanese cooperative studies of deep-drilled sediments in the 1990s provide a detailed picture of climate differences over the past 6.7 million years.

Lake Baikal is the only closed freshwater lake in which there is direct and indirect evidence of gas hydrates.

The lake is surrounded by mountains; The Baikal Mountains on the north coast, the Barguzin chain on the northeast coast, and the taiga are protected as a national park. It contains 27 islands; the largest, Olkhon, is 72 km (45 miles) long and the third largest lake-bound island in the world.

Water characteristics

Lake Baikal is one of the clearest lakes in the world. During the winter, the water transparency in open compartments can be up to 30–40 m (100–130 ft), but during the summer it is usually 5–8 m (15–25 ft). The lake is rich with oxygen, even in the deep parts, which separates it from extremely layered water bodies such as Lake Tanganyika and the Black Sea. In Lake Baikal, the water temperature varies significantly depending on the location, depth, and time of year. During winter and spring, the surface freezes for about 4-5 months; from the beginning of January to the beginning of May-June (at the latest in the north), the surface of the lake is covered with ice. After breaking the surface ice, the surface water is heated by the sun's heat, and in May to June, the upper 300 m layer or so becomes homothermal (same temperature as a whole) at about 4 ° C (39 ° F) due to water mixing. The sun continues to heat the surface layer, and at its peak, in August it can reach up to about 16 ° C (61 ° F) in the main sections and 20–24 ° C (68–75 ° F) in shallow bays in the southern half of the lake. During that time, the pattern reverses in relation to winter and spring, because the water temperature decreases with increasing depth. As autumn begins, the surface temperature drops again and the second homothermic period at about 4 ° C (39 ° F) of the upper circle of about 300 m (980 ft) occurs in the period October-November. In the deepest parts of the lake, of about 300 m, the temperature is stable at 3.1–3.4 ° C (37.6–38.1 ° F) with only small annual deviations.

Flora and fauna

Lake Baikal is rich in biodiversity. It houses more than 1,000 species of plants and 2,500 species of animals based on current knowledge, but it is believed that the actual figures for both groups are significantly higher. More than 80% of animals are endemic.

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By: Deya - Gossip Whispers