How many liters are in Lake Baikal. The oldest lake
Tourists who have ever visited Baikal talk not only about the marvelous views, distances, water horizons of the lake, but first of all about the energy and grandeur that come from Baikal, many note its unearthly deep beauty, strength. Writers called Baikal sacred, healing, omnipotent…
Talking about beauties Russian land, it is impossible not to tell about great place— Lake Baikal. It is, perhaps, one of the main attractions and marvelous landscapes, treasures of the pantry of nature in our country.
In addition to the fact that Lake Baikal is a masterpiece of Russian land, Eastern Siberia, it still occupies a place of honor among water beauties planets: this is the most deep lake in the world, and one of the largest reservoirs fresh water(by the way - fresh water on Earth is only a few percent of the total volume of water).
About the beauty of the lake documentary"Baikal without borders":
About Lake Baikal
« Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia.
The lake and coastal areas are distinguished by a unique variety of flora and fauna, most of the animal species are endemic (that is, they are found only here).
locals and many in Russia traditionally call Baikal the sea (as A. Chekhov said).
However, the world's deepest lake with fresh water- Not only a nice place Russia, but also an enviable tidbit for other countries.
Baikal is located in the center of Asia on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia in Russian Federation. The lake stretches from northeast to southwest for 620 km in the form of a giant crescent. The width of Lake Baikal ranges from 24 to 79 km. The bottom of Baikal is 1167 meters below the level of the World Ocean, and the mirror of its waters is 455.5 meters higher.
The area of the water surface of Lake Baikal is 31,722 km² (excluding the islands),which is roughly equal to the area of countries such as Belgium or the Netherlands. In terms of water surface area, Baikal ranks seventh among largest lakes peace.
Length coastline- 2100 km.
The lake is located in a kind of basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills ”(Wikipedia)
The “deepest” established value of the lake is 1642 m (recorded by the expedition in 1983), average depth- 744.4 m, which far exceeds the parameters of the depths of the most deep lakes. Only the Caspian Sea (1025 m) and Tanganyika (1470 m) are deeper than the average depths of Baikal.
“Water reserves in Baikal are gigantic - 23,615.39 km³ (about 19% of the world’s lake fresh water reserves - in all fresh lakes the world contains 123 thousand km³ of water).
In terms of water reserves, Baikal ranks second in the world among lakes, second only to the Caspian Sea, but the water in the Caspian Sea is salty. There is more water in Baikal than in all five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario) combined, and 25 times more than in Lake Ladoga.”
"Interesting Facts. If all the water contained in Baikal is divided among all citizens of Russia (141,927,297 people), then each will have about 166.4 thousand cubic meters of water, which is approximately 2,773 railway tanks of 60 tons each.”
Baikal water has unique properties: it is always clean, transparent, especially in spring, stones can be seen at a depth of several tens of meters; “It contains very few dissolved and suspended minerals, negligibly few organic impurities, a lot of oxygen” - mineral salts over 96 mg / l.
Some "experts" believe that water from Baikal can be drunk without treatment, while others are sure that it must either be boiled or passed through filters. There is garbage near the shore, where there is a lot of algae, especially in the heat, even if Baikal itself remains cold, but in small creeks it is warmer (where many decomposition products can accumulate off the coast), or after a storm - it’s better not to try raw water after all .
Collected far from the coast, at a depth, in a clean backwater, and raw or (at will and preference) passed through filters - Baikal water is the most useful product.
The temperature in the lake, as a rule, is always cold, even in summer it does not exceed +9 degrees Celsius (at a depth of +4), in some creeks it can reach +15 and even up to +23 degrees Celsius.
Spring on Baikal and its environs usually comes with a two-week delay, and autumn drags on. If there is a sizzling heat in the area - which, of course, is almost unrealistic for Siberia and Russia, but everything happens - then a fresh, slightly "cold", saving breeze will blow near the lake, and the cool temperature of the water will cool "as it should" anyone.
The age of the lake, according to scientists, is about 25-35 million years.. First mention: "110 BC. e. - under the name "Beihai" the lake is first mentioned in Chinese chronicles.
Most big Island Baikal - Olkhon:
« 71 km long and 12 km wide, located almost in the center of the lake at its west coast, area - 729 km², according to other sources - 700 km². There are 27 islands on the lake in total.
About 336 rivers and streams flow into Baikal (sometimes, during floods, during ravines, these figures reach - according to various estimates up to 1123) rivers and streams.
“The largest of Baikal's tributaries are the Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin, Turka, Snezhnaya, Sarma. One river flows out of the lake - the Angara.
About the flora and fauna of Baikal, the Baikal Reserve clearly in the film "Baikal Fantasies":
Flora of Baikal rich in algae, among which there are unique representatives, endemics. Fauna also very diverse and unusual, for example - Baikal epishura (a type of planktonic crustaceans from the copepod subclass) - a microscopic crustacean (about 1.5 mm in size), actively maintains the cleanliness of the lake, passing organic matter through its body.
In addition to epishura, about 2600 species and subspecies of endemic aquatic animals live in the water depths of Lake Baikal: fish, worms, crustaceans, sponges, etc.
Of the fish found here: Baikal omul, grayling, Baikal osset, pike, whitefish, burbot, taimen - a total of 58 species. Birds and animals living in the vicinity of the lake are also unique.
Even during the icing of the lake, algae actively live under water, ensuring the existence of the fauna, and thanks to the cracks in the ice, oxygen enters the lake.
In winter, the thickness of ice on the surface of the lake is from 1 m to 5 m. Frozen Baikal on a sunny winter day with cracks in the ice shimmering in the light is a most beautiful sight.
In the Baikal Reserve (located on the eastern shore in the southern part of Baikal and covers an area of 165.7 thousand hectares. mountain range Khamar-Daban) there are brown bears, wild boars, roe deer, sables, black kites, capercaillie...
Most of the reserve is occupied by taiga, protected plants: calamus, common viburnum, yellow egg pod, edible honeysuckle, etc.
It happens that Baikal “shakes”, there is a rather high seismic activity: earthquakes of 1-2 points were the norm, but more serious ones occurred last time in 2008 (9 points) and in 2010 (6.1 points).
From whom and from what is it worth saving Baikal?
Any miracle of nature is sure to suffer encroachment ... from whom would you think in the first place? Naturally - from the people themselves, the industries they built, decay products, garbage.
“Lake Baikal is a unique ecological system, legal framework the protection of which is regulated by the Federal Law “On the Protection of Lake Baikal” adopted in 1999.
In 1996, Baikal was included in the List of objects world heritage UNESCO".
Several foundations and environmental organizations are also engaged in the protection of Lake Baikal.
One of the main problems is poachers. They kill, catch the Baikal seal. her cubs, spawning omul.
In addition, forests in the vicinity of Lake Baikal are regularly cut down.
The Transneft company is building an oil pipeline near Lake Baikal.
Vacationers near the lake, remember that nature must be protected, because even though it is silent, it is priceless for our prosperous existence, it is better not to conduct experiments with the meaning of checking what will happen to us if the most best miracles nature, clean up after yourself at least - this is such a small thing.
Chop, saw and damage trees , any, regardless of size.
Leave trash behind. If you were able to drag a full bottle here, then do you really have to carry it when it is empty?
Light a fire where there has never been one. Nature heals the wound inflicted by fire over the years. If the parking lot is not equipped with a bonfire, and you need a bonfire to the point, make it on the shore, on pebbles, after making sure that there are no trees nearby, the roots of which can be damaged by fire.
Decorate with cretin writing, i.e. with their own names, names of places of residence and other outrages coastal cliffs . Do not flatter yourself, nature is self-sufficient, a person can only worsen it.
Catch fish by poaching methods. I'll explain how to trap her. Or do you care what your grandchildren will eat?
Pick flowers. Are they more beautiful dead?
Turn on loud music. Yes, and do not turn it on quietly, listen better to the rustle of leaves and the splash of waves. Or did you not come here for this?
Rest on Lake Baikal
Every year, Baikal and the Baikal Reserve are visited by over 400 thousand tourists, including those from other countries.
Basically, all roads to the lake go through the nearest big cities: Ulan-Ude, Irkutsk, Severobaikalsk. From any of these points you can easily get to Lake Baikal by bus.
For example, from Irkutsk (70 km to Baikal) you can get: by railway transport (electric trains, trains), from the bus station or the central market by bus, fixed-route taxi, in the summer (from mid-June to August) from the pier "Rocket" on a yacht, motor ship.
More detailed routes, options for overcoming the path from experienced travelers can be found on the resources: www.magicbaikal.ru, baikalholiday.ru, www.baikalvisa.ru, baikal-tourist.ru, you can order tours to Baikal, cruises, excursions on exatourbaikal.com - and other sites, agencies offering trips to Baikal - a lot.
You can set off on your own, the main thing is to book a place at a recreation center, in a hostel, hotel:
About cruises in reality:
“Often, tourists who are going on a Baikal cruise do not realize the true size of the lake. Only from the southern to the northern tip, its length is 636 kilometers.
At average speed Baikal motor ships 15-18 kilometers per hour, the passage along the lake from Kultuk to Severobaikalsk (from south to north) will take 36 running hours without stops. And this is with good weather conditions, in the absence of a wave. Well, to get around the entire coast - this is more than two thousand kilometers - it is possible only in three to four weeks!
For example, a 9-day tour by flight from Moscow (for two people, excluding the cost of the flight) will cost, depending on the tour program and the place of rest on Lake Baikal, 26-50 thousand rubles.
A popular and favorite place for tourists is the village of Listvyanka, there is a recreation center, there are excursions, cruises.
« The most visited places on the western coast of Lake Baikal:
the entire coast of the Small Sea;
western (little sea) coast of Olkhon Island;
Peschanaya Bay and its environs;
Circum-Baikal Railway;
northwestern coast from the city of Severobaikalsk to the village of Baikalskoe;
any place that can be reached by car.
If you like to relax in the midst of the masses, delighting your ears with the round-the-clock heart-rending howl of pop music, the roar of jet skis and the roar of a motorized hang glider over your head, choose any of the places listed.
If you want peace and quiet, then you need to look for places that are inaccessible. They still exist even on Olkhon, but you will have to get there either on foot or by water.
I note that silence in the most visited places also happens, but outside summer season. Unfortunately, along with the hubbub, the unsightly consequences of a valiant pastime do not disappear” (Magiya Baikal.ru).
Most best time for trips to Baikal, if you want to swim or fish - July-August: in June it is still cool, and after August cold winds are already blowing. But in winter, when Baikal is covered with a thick layer of ice, it’s also beautiful there, you just need to dress appropriately and think more thoroughly about travel options, where to stay, etc.
“It’s better to see once than hear a hundred times!”, say enthusiastic travelers who returned from Baikal. Among Russians' favorite vacation spots, Baikal is in 6th place after resorts. Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, Caucasus and Mineralnye Vody. Baikal is no less beautiful, it's just not as hot there as on sunny coasts.
On Olkhon, for example (according to the reviews of tourists who were there in the summer of 2014), gorgeous views, beaches, very bright sun, cold water - it’s difficult to swim, there is a lot of garbage everywhere and this is a whole problem, people don’t clean up after themselves, alcohol bottles, dishes, dirt left by people contrast with the background of beautiful nature.
Still, if you have never been to Lake Baikal, be sure to visit this beautiful place - you will not regret it, and then it is a good alternative to the now expensive vacation abroad. Just don't forget to pick up your trash.
- the deepest lake. Depth of Baikal about 1700 meters. In the world only one lake can be compared to depth with Lake Baikal. This lake Tanganyika to East Africa. Its depth is about 1400 meters. Depth of Lake Baikal comparable to the depth of the Northern Arctic Ocean, the average depth of which is 1220 meters.
Baikal - most big lake in Asia. Water surface area Lake Baikal over 30 thousand square kilometers.
Lake Baikal water is its main value. Lake Baikal – most large reservoir of fresh water in the world. Baikal contains approximately a fifth of the world's reserves.
The deepest bay Lake Baikal- Barguzinsky. The depth of the Barguzinsky Bay is almost 1300 meters.
Most big bay Lake Baikal- Barguzinsky. The area of the bay is 725 square kilometers.
The youngest bay of Baikal- Fail Bay. Proval Bay was formed after a powerful earthquake in 1862. Part of the Selenga delta with an area of about 200 square kilometers has gone under water. This earthquake also caused the formation the youngest cape of Baikal- Cape Oblom.
The largest island Lake Baikal- Olkhon. The island is located in the middle Baikal and divides lake to the Big and Small seas. The island is 71 kilometers long and 12 kilometers wide.
On Cape Kotelnikovsky is the most. Water temperature in mineral springs Cape Kotelnikovsky plus 81 degrees Celsius.
The basin of Lake Baikal – deepest continental depression. Bottom of Lake Baikal lies below the level of the world ocean by about 1200 meters.
The largest influx Lake Baikal the Selenga river. The Selenga has a length of about 1000 kilometers. About half of all the water that enters lake, brings precisely the Selenga.
Most large peninsula Lake Baikal- Holy Nose. The peninsula measures about 50 kilometers long and about 20 kilometers wide.
Depth of Lake Baikal
Basin of Baikal consists of three rather separate parts. The middle basin is the deepest. It is here at east coast Olkhon Islands depth of Lake Baikal reaches almost 1700 meters. Depth southern basin Lake Baikal approximately 1432 meters. The largest measured depth northern part Lake Baikal 890 meters. Medium lake depth also very large - more than 700 meters. The biggest depth Small Sea - near the northwestern coast of Olkhon Island. It is approximately equal to 250 meters. The smallest depth in the open Baikal- about 30 meters. Northern and middle basins Lake Baikal separates the underwater Academic Ridge. lake depth in these places about 260 meters. Between the middle and southern basins Lake Baikal the Selenga bridge is located. The smallest depth here 360 meters.
Where is Baikal located?
Baikal is located in the middle of Asia in the south of Eastern Siberia between the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation. Close to lakes the cities of Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude are located.
Length, length, width of Baikal
Lake Baikal is a fracture in the earth's crust filled with water. water in lake carry several hundred large and small streams. Lake Baikal stretched from south to northeast: length or length of Baikal about 640 kilometers. The largest width of Baikal 80 kilometers. Small earthquakes constantly occur in the vicinity of the lake. Occasionally there are big ones. coast Baikal moving away from each other at a rate of 2 centimeters per year - Baikal is growing!
In the south of Eastern Siberia, where Irkutsk region borders with Buryatia, one of the seven wonders of the world is spread - the largest and deepest fresh water reservoir in the world - Lake Baikal. The locals used to call it the sea, because the opposite shore is often out of sight. This is the largest fresh water reservoir on the planet with an area of more than 31 thousand km², which would completely fit the Netherlands and Belgium, and the maximum depth of Baikal is 1642 m.
Lake-record holder
The crescent-shaped reservoir has a record length of 620 km, and a width of different places fluctuates between 24-79 km. The lake lies in a basin with tectonic origin, so its relief bottom is very deep - 1176 m below the level of the World Ocean, and the water surface rises 456 m above it. The average depth is 745 m. The bottom is extremely picturesque - various banks, in other words, ancient shallows, terraces, caves, reefs and canyons, plumes, ridges and plains. It consists of great variety natural materials including limestone and marble.
Above is the depth of Lake Baikal, according to this indicator, it is in first place on the planet. The African Tanganyika (1470 m) ranks second, and the Caspian (1025 m) closes the top three. The depth of other reservoirs is less than 1000 m. Baikal is a reservoir of fresh water, it is 20% of the world's reserves and 90% of Russia's. The tonnage of its mass is greater than in the entire system of the five Great Lakes of the United States - Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario and Superior. But largest lake Europe is still considered not Baikal (it is in 7th place in the world ranking), but Ladoga, which occupies 17,100 km². Some people are trying to compare the famous fresh water bodies in Russia and are wondering which lake is deeper - Baikal or Ladoga, although there is nothing to think about, since the average depth of Ladoga is only 50 m.
An interesting fact: Baikal takes in 336 large and small rivers, and releases only one from its embrace - the beautiful Angara.
In winter, the lake freezes to a depth of about a meter, and many tourists come to admire an exceptional sight - a transparent ice “floor”, under which blue and green water pierced by the sun splashes. The upper layers of ice are transformed into intricate shapes and blocks, carved by winds, currents and weather.
The famous Baikal water
Lake water was deified by the ancient tribes, they were treated with it and idolized. It has been proven that Baikal water has unique properties - it is saturated with oxygen and practically distilled, and due to the presence of various microorganisms, it is devoid of minerals. It is famous for its exceptional transparency, especially in spring, when stones lying at a depth of 40 meters are visible from the surface. But in summer, during the “blooming” period, the transparency decreases to 10. The waters of Lake Baikal are changeable: they shimmer from deep blue to rich green, these are the smallest forms of life that develop and give the reservoir new shades.
Baikal depth indicators
In 1960, researchers measured the depth near Capes Izhemei and Khara-Khushun with a cable lot and documented the most deep place Lake Baikal - 1620 m. Two decades later, in 1983, the expedition of A. Sulimanov and L. Kolotilo corrected the indicators in this area using echo sounding measurements and recorded new data - the most deep point was at a depth of 1642 m. 20 years later, in 2002, an international expedition under the auspices of a joint project of Russia, Spain and Belgium worked on the creation of a modern bathymetric map of Baikal and confirmed the latest measurements using acoustic sounding of the bottom.
The unique reservoir has always attracted the increased attention of scientists and researchers, who equipped more and more new expeditions in order to clarify the previous depth measurements in different parts of the reservoir. So, in 2008-2010, the Mir submersible expeditions organized about 200 dives throughout the entire water area of this fresh sea. They were attended by prominent politicians and businessmen, journalists, athletes and hydronauts from Western and of Eastern Europe and Russia.
Where are the deepest places of Baikal
Since the bottom of the reservoir is dotted with faults, the depth of the lake in different parts of the water area differs:
- near the western shores lie the deepest breaks in the earth's crust;
- in the southern part, the record depth of the depression between the mouths of the rivers Pereemnaya and Mishikhi was recorded at 1432 m;
- in the north, the deepest place is located between capes Elokhin and Pokoiniki - 890 m;
- depressions in the Small Sea - up to 259 m, their location at the Big Olkhon Gates;
- the most great depth Lake Baikal in the region of the Barguzinsky Bay reaches 1284 m, this point is located at southern shores peninsula Svyatoy Nos.
Video: an interesting film about Lake Baikal
The unique ecosystem attracts scientists, researchers from different countries. Thousands of tourists go to the deepest lake in the world to enjoy the magnificence of landscapes, landscapes that you will not find anywhere else. The boundless diversity of flora and fauna of the region, among which are mostly endemics (found only here), complements the wealth that nature has given to people.
Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal (Jason Rogers / flickr.com) Olkhon Island, Baikal (Jason Rogers / flickr.com) Olkhon Island (Jason Rogers / flickr.com) Jason Rogers / flickr.com Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Martin Lopatka / flickr .com Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com Lake Baikal (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com) Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Khoboy Cape, Olkhon (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com) Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com White Sturgeon (Heaven Ice Day / flickr.com) Heaven Ice Day / flickr.com LA638 / flickr.com
There are many places on earth that amaze with their beauty and uniqueness. Lake Baikal is one of them. This richest reservoir embodied all ideas about primevalness. It can be calm when there is calm on its surface, or it can be ferocious and cruel when a storm breaks out.
Asking the question of what attracts the attention of Baikal, it is quite simple to answer it. Peculiarities geographical characteristics giant reservoir attract tourists thousands of kilometers away.
Lake Baikal (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com)
The greatest depth of Baikal is impressive. The maximum depth of the lake is from the surface of the water at a distance of 1642 meters.
This indicator brings Baikal to a leading position among the lakes on the planet. Following after Russian Baikal African Tanganyika is in a significant margin. The difference between the maximum depths of these majestic reservoirs is about 160 meters.
The average depth over the entire area of the lake also deserves attention. Most of Baikal has a depth of about 730 meters. As for the area of this reservoir, here, for understanding, we can cite the area of Belgium or Denmark as an example. Equating the size of the lake to the territory of one of these countries, one can only imagine its boundless expanses.
Olkhon Island (Jason Rogers / flickr.com)
The reason for the incredible depth and length of Lake Baikal is the countless number of rivers and streams flowing into it. There are more than 300 of them: large and small streams and full-flowing powerful river flows. Despite the fact that only the Angara takes its source from the lake.
It is worth noting that Lake Baikal is considered the world's largest natural reservoir of clean fresh water. Its volumes exceed even the famous American Great Lakes. If we add up the volumes of Michigan, Erie, Huron, Ontario and Lake Superior, then their sum will still not reach equality with the capacity of Baikal, which is over 23,600 cubic kilometers.
The huge depth, impressive expanses of the reservoir, the length and width of the mirror surface caused the inhabitants to often call Baikal the sea. Located in the southeast of Eurasia, a powerful lake is famous for its storms and tides (similar to sea ones).
Why is the lake called Baikal?
The history of the name of the lake is associated with several legends known to the local people. According to the first version, in translation from Turkic it means "rich lake", and in the original language it sounds like Bai-Kul.
Khoboy Cape, Olkhon (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com)
The second variant of the origin of the name, according to historians, is associated with the Mongols - in their language, the reservoir was called Baigal (rich fire) or Baigal dalai (big sea). There is also a third version of the name, according to which the neighboring Chinese called the lake " north sea". In Chinese, it sounds like Bei-Hai.
Lake Baikal is one of the oldest water bodies on the earth's surface. This orographic unit went through a rather complex and long process of formation in the earth's crust.
More than 25 million years ago, the reservoir began its formation, which continues to this day. Recent geological studies prove that Baikal can rightly be considered the beginning of another ocean, which, of course, will not appear in the near future, but scientists look almost unequivocally that it will happen.
The shores of the lake are expanding significantly every year, body of water increases before our eyes, therefore, in the place of the lake in a few million years, according to the researchers, there will be an ocean.
Lake research
A unique distinguishing feature of the Baikal waters is their amazing transparency. At a depth of up to forty meters, you can easily see every pebble at the bottom.
Olkhon Island, Baikal (Jason Rogers / flickr.com)
This is explained by simple chemical laws. The fact is that almost all rivers flowing into Baikal pass through crystals of sparingly soluble rocks.
Hence the low level of Baikal mineralization. It is about 100 milligrams per liter of lake water.
Due to the maximum depth of Baikal and the high coastline, exceeding the surface of the ocean by 450 meters, the bottom of the reservoir is rightfully considered the most deep depression not only on this continent, but also among other continents.
Thanks to the fact that scientists have figured out the exact location maximum depth lakes, a dive was made to this point a few years ago.
It is located within the island of Olkhon. A modern deep-sea instrument sank to the bottom for more than 1 hour. For some time, scientists have filmed and taken samples for a detailed study of the bottom composition of the water and the rocks present.
During this experiment, the researchers managed to discover new microorganisms and identify the source of Baikal pollution with oil.
You can find whole volumes of information about Baikal, both on the Internet and in various magazines and book editions. The lake is not deprived of attention from tourists, researchers and politicians. From year to year, stunning scientific discoveries are associated with Baikal, expeditions are constantly equipped for thorough research. I decided to dedicate this topic to the most interesting facts and events related to Lake Baikal. I will try to save you from boring geographical terms, here will be only the most interesting. Most of the photos in the topic are clickable (open on click)
- one of the oldest lakes on the planet and the deepest lake in the world. Baikal is one of the ten largest lakes in the world. Its average depth is about 730 meters, the maximum is 1637 meters. In 1996, Baikal was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Scientists disagree about the origin of Lake Baikal, as well as about its age. Scientists traditionally determine the age of the lake at 25-35 million years. This fact also makes Baikal unique. natural object, since most lakes, especially glacial origin, live an average of 10-15 thousand years, and then they are filled with silty sediments and become swampy
There is also a version about the relative youth of Baikal, put forward by Alexander Tatarinov, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences in 2009, which received indirect confirmation during the second stage of the Worlds expedition to Baikal. In particular, the activity of mud volcanoes at the bottom of Lake Baikal allows scientists to assume that the modern coastline of the lake is only 8 thousand years old, and the deep-water part is 150 thousand years old.
Baikal contains about 19% of the world's fresh water reserves. There is more water in Baikal than in all five Great Lakes taken together and 25 times more than, for example, in Lake Ladoga
The water in the lake is so transparent that individual stones and various objects can be seen at a depth of 40 m. clearest water Baikal contains so few mineral salts (100 mg/l) that it can be used instead of distilled 
2,630 species and varieties of plants and animals live in Baikal, 2/3 of which are endemic, that is, they live only in this reservoir. Such an abundance of living organisms is explained by the high oxygen content in the entire thickness of the Baikal water. 
Photo of Baikal from space 
The most interesting in Baikal is the viviparous golomyanka fish, whose body contains up to 30% fat. She surprises biologists with daily feeding migrations from the depths to shallow water. 
The second, after the golomyanka, the miracle of Baikal, to which it owes its exceptional purity, is the epishura crustacean (numbers about 300 species). The Baikal epishura is a copepod, 1 mm long, a representative of plankton, found throughout the depth (it is not found in bays where the water warms up). Baikal would not be Baikal without this copepod, barely noticeable to the eye, surprisingly efficient and numerous, managing to filter the entire Baikal water
Here lives typically marine mammal- seal, or Baikal seal 
Baikal's water reserves would be enough for 40 years for the inhabitants of the whole Earth, and at the same time 46 x 1015 people could quench their thirst
Baikal ice presents scientists with many mysteries. So, in the 1930s, specialists from the Baikal Limnological Station discovered unusual forms of ice cover, typical only for Lake Baikal. For example, “hills” are cone-shaped ice hills up to 6 meters high, hollow inside. Appearance they resemble ice tents, "open" in the opposite direction from the coast. Hills can be located separately, and sometimes form miniature " mountain ranges»
Satellite images clearly show dark rings 5-7 km in diameter on the ice of Lake Baikal. The origin of the rings is not known. Scientists believe that the rings on the ice of the lake may have already appeared many times, but it was impossible to see them because of their huge size. Now using the latest technologies it became possible, and scientists will begin to study this phenomenon. For the first time, such rings were discovered in 1999, then in 2003, 2005. As you can see, rings do not form every year. The rings are also not located in the same place. Scientists were particularly interested in the reason for the displacement of the rings in 2008 to the southwest, compared with 1999, 2003 and 2005. In April 2009, such rings were found again, and again in a different place than last year. Scientists suggest that the rings are formed due to the release of natural gas from the bottom of Lake Baikal. However, the exact causes and mechanisms of formation dark rings on the ice of Lake Baikal have not yet been studied and no one knows their exact nature
The Baikal region (the so-called Baikal rift zone) belongs to areas with high seismicity: earthquakes regularly occur here, the strength of most of which is one or two points on the MSK-64 intensity scale. However, strong ones also happen, so in 1862, during a ten-point Kudarinsky earthquake in the northern part of the Selenga delta, a land area of 200 km2 went under water? with 6 uluses, in which 1,300 people lived, and the Proval Bay was formed
A unique deep-sea neutrino telescope NT-200, built in 1993-1998, was created and operates on the lake, with the help of which high-energy neutrinos are detected. On its basis, the NT-200+ neutrino telescope with an increased effective volume is being created, the construction of which is expected to be completed no earlier than 2017.
The first dives of manned vehicles on Baikal were made in 1977, when the bottom of the lake was explored on deep-sea vehicle Pice made in Canada. In Listvenichny Bay, a depth of 1,410 meters was reached. In 1991, the Pisis sank to a depth of 1,637 meters from the eastern side of Olkhon.
In the summer of 2008, the Foundation for Assistance to the Preservation of Lake Baikal carried out a research expedition "Mira" on Baikal. "52 deep-sea manned submersibles" Mir "were carried out to the bottom of Lake Baikal. Scientists delivered water samples, soil and microorganisms raised from the bottom of Lake Baikal
In 1966, production began at the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (BPPM), as a result of which the adjacent bottom areas of the lake began to degrade. Dust and gas emissions have a negative impact on the taiga around the BPPM, dry tops and drying of the forest are noted. In September 2008, the plant introduced a closed water circulation system designed to reduce the discharge of wash water. According to the source, the system turned out to be inoperable and less than a month after its launch, the plant had to be stopped. 
There are many legends associated with. The most fascinating of them is connected with the Angara River:
In the old days, the mighty Baikal was cheerful and kind. He deeply loved his only daughter Angara. She was not more beautiful on earth. During the day it is light - lighter than the sky, at night it is dark - darker than the clouds. And whoever rode past the Angara, everyone admired her, everyone praised her. Even migratory birds: geese, swans, cranes - descended low, but rarely landed on the water of the Angara. They said: “Is it possible to blacken light?”
Old man Baikal took care of his daughter more than his heart. Once, when Baikal fell asleep, Angara rushed to run to the young Yenisei. Father woke up, angrily splashed waves. A fierce storm arose, mountains sobbed, forests fell, the sky turned black from grief, animals fled in fear all over the earth, fish dived to the very bottom, birds flew away to the sun. Only the wind howled, and the heroic sea raged. Mighty Baikal hit the gray-haired mountain, broke off a rock from it and threw it after the fleeing daughter. The rock fell on the very throat of the beauty. The blue-eyed Angara pleaded, panting and sobbing, and began to ask:
“Father, I am dying of thirst, forgive me and give me at least one drop of water.”
Baikal shouted angrily:
“I can only give my tears!”
For thousands of years, the Angara has been flowing into the Yenisei with water-tear, and the gray-haired lonely Baikal has become gloomy and scary. The rock that Baikal threw after his daughter was called by people the Shaman stone. Rich sacrifices were made to Baikal there. People said: “Baikal will be angry, it will tear off the Shaman stone, the water will gush and flood the whole earth.” Currently, the river is blocked by a dam, so only the top of the shaman stone is visible from the water. 
There is a legend among the people about the creation of Baikal "The Lord looked: the unkind land came out ... no matter how she became offended by him! And, so as not to hold a grudge, he took and waved her not some kind of foot mat, but the very measure of his generosity, which he measured how much to be from him. The measure fell and turned into Baikal. 
