Baikal message plan. Unique fauna and flora. Name and age of Baikal

When traveling around Lake Baikal in a kayak, the last thing you think about is that now you have 20% of the world's purest fresh water reserves under you ...

This section contains basic information about the lake, and links to the Magic of Baikal pages, where you can get more detailed information. In the process of collecting information, I encountered the fact that data from different sources diverge, sometimes significantly. For example, there is still no generally accepted opinion regarding the number of islands on Baikal, the number of rivers flowing into the lake, etc. The origin of the names of capes, islands, bays and other objects is often a mystery shrouded in darkness. I tried to take information from reliable sources and point out the discrepancies and their reasons.

Geography of Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is located in the south of Eastern Siberia. In the form of a crescent being born, Baikal stretched from southwest to northeast between 55°47" and 51°28" north latitude and 103°43" and 109°58" east longitude. The length of the lake is 636 km, the maximum width in the central part is 81 km, the minimum width opposite the Selenga delta is 27 km (between capes Goly on the western shore of Baikal and Sredny on the eastern shore). Baikal is located at an altitude of 455 m above sea level. Length coastline about 1850 km. More than half of the coastline of Lake Baikal is under protection.

The area of the water mirror, determined at the water's edge of 454 m above sea level, is 31,470 square kilometers. The maximum depth of the lake is 1637 m, average depth- 730 m. Sometimes in the literature there is a statement that the maximum depth of Baikal is 1642 m. Which value is correct? The answer to this question is somewhat paradoxical - both are correct. The point is that the measurement error for such depths is about 2%; 30 meters. Therefore, it is correct to say that the greatest depth of Baikal is 1640 m.

336 permanent rivers and streams flow into Baikal, while half of the water entering the lake comes from the Selenga. The only river flowing from Baikal is the Angara. However, the question of the number of rivers flowing into Baikal is rather controversial, most likely there are fewer than 336. There is no doubt that Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, the closest contender for this title, African lake Tanganyika, lags behind by as much as 200 meters. There are 30 islands on Baikal, although, as mentioned above, there is no unanimity on this issue. The largest is Olkhon Island.

Age of Lake Baikal

The age of the lake is usually given in the literature as 20-25 million years. In fact, the question of the age of Baikal should be considered open, since the use of various methods for determining the age gives values from 20-30 million to several tens of thousands of years. Apparently, the first estimate is closer to the truth - Baikal is really very ancient lake. If we assume that the age of Baikal is indeed several tens of millions of years, then this is the oldest lake on Earth.

It is believed that Baikal arose as a result of the action of tectonic forces. Tectonic processes are still going on, which is manifested in the increased seismicity of the Baikal region.

origin of name

Numerous scientific studies have been devoted to the problem of the origin of the word "Baikal", which indicates a lack of clarity in this matter. There are about a dozen possible explanations for the origin of the name. Among them, the most probable is the version of the origin of the name of the lake from the Turkic-speaking Bai-Kul - a rich lake. Of the other versions, two more can be noted: from the Mongolian Baigal - a rich fire and Baigal Dalai - big lake. The peoples who lived on the shores of the lake called Baikal in their own way. Evenks, for example, - Lamu, Buryats - Baigal-Nuur, even the Chinese had a name for Baikal - Beihai - the North Sea.

The Evenk name Lamu - the Sea was used for several years by the first Russian explorers in the 17th century, then they switched to the Buryat Baigal, slightly softening the letter "g" by phonetic replacement. Quite often, Baikal is called the sea, simply out of respect, for its violent temper, for the fact that the far opposite shore is often hidden somewhere in the haze ... At the same time, they distinguish between the Small Sea and the Big Sea. Small Sea - what is located between north coast Olkhon and the mainland, everything else is the Big Sea.

Baikal water

Baikal water is unique and amazing, like Baikal itself. It is unusually transparent, pure and saturated with oxygen. In not so ancient times, it was considered healing, with its help, diseases were treated. In spring, the transparency of Baikal water, measured using the Secchi disk (a white disk with a diameter of 30 cm), is 40 m (for comparison, in the Sargasso Sea, which is considered the standard of transparency, this value is 65 m). Later, when a massive algae bloom begins, the transparency of the water decreases, but in calm weather, the bottom can be seen from a boat at a fairly decent depth. This high transparency is due to the fact that Baikal water, due to the activity of living organisms living in it, is very weakly mineralized and close to distilled.

The volume of water in Baikal is about 23 thousand cubic kilometers, which is 20% of the world and 90% of Russian fresh water reserves. Every year, the Baikal ecosystem reproduces about 60 cubic kilometers of clear, oxygenated water.

Climate

The climate in Eastern Siberia is sharply continental, but the huge mass of water contained in Baikal and its mountainous surroundings create an unusual microclimate. Baikal works like a big thermal stabilizer - in winter it is warmer in Baikal, and in summer a little cooler than, for example, in Irkutsk, located at a distance of 70 km from the lake. The temperature difference is usually around 10 degrees. A significant contribution to this effect is made by forests growing on almost the entire coast of Lake Baikal.

The influence of Lake Baikal is not limited to the regulation of the temperature regime. Due to the fact that the evaporation of cold water from the surface of the lake is very small, clouds cannot form over Baikal. In addition, the air masses that bring clouds from the land heat up when passing the coastal mountains, and the clouds dissipate. As a result, the sky over Baikal is clear most of the time. This is also evidenced by the numbers: the number of hours of sunshine in the region of Olkhon Island is 2277 hours (for comparison - on the Riga seashore 1839, in Abastumani (Caucasus) - 1994). You should not think that the sun always shines over the lake - if you are not lucky, then you can get one or even two weeks of disgusting rainy weather even in the sunniest place of Baikal - on Olkhon, but this is extremely rare.

Average annual temperature water on the surface of the lake +4°С. Near the coast in summer the temperature reaches +16-17°C, in shallow bays up to +22-23°C.

wind and waves

The wind on Baikal blows almost always. More than thirty local names of winds are known. This does not mean at all that there are so many different winds on Baikal, just that many of them have several names. Peculiarity Baikal winds in that almost all of them almost always blow along the coast and there are not as many shelters from them as we would like.

Prevailing winds: northwest, often called mountain winds, northeast (barguzin and verkhovik, also known as angara), southwest (kultuk), southeast (shelonnik). Max Speed wind, registered on Baikal, 40 m/s. Large values are also found in the literature - up to 60 m/s, but there is no reliable evidence for this.

Where there is wind, there, as you know, there are waves. I note right away that the opposite is not true - the wave can be even with complete calm. Waves on Lake Baikal can reach a height of 4 meters. Sometimes values of 5 and even 6 meters are given, but this is most likely an estimate “by eye”, which has a large error, as a rule, in the direction of overestimation. The height of 4 meters was obtained using instrumental measurements in the open sea. The excitement is strongest in autumn and spring. In the summer on Lake Baikal, strong excitement is rare, and calm often occurs.

currents

As in any sea, there are currents in Baikal. They are caused by various reasons: atmospheric pressure drops, winds, the flow of rivers flowing into Baikal, the Coriolis force.

The current speed is only a few centimeters per second, rarely exceeding 10 cm/s, it depends on many factors and decreases with distance from the coast and with depth.

The surface current near the western shore of Lake Baikal is almost always directed from north to south, and near the eastern shore - from south to north. In other words, in general, the current along the Baikal coast is counterclockwise. There is also a current along the coast of Olkhon Island. With the exception of the Olkhonskiye Vorota strait and the nearby areas of the island, it is directed clockwise. In the Olkhon Gates Strait and nearby west coast The current of the Small Sea is so strong that in calm weather the drift of the ship is clearly visible.

Animal and vegetable world Baikal

There are more than 2600 species and varieties of animals and more than 1000 species of plant organisms in Baikal. New species are discovered from time to time. There is reason to believe that at present only 70-80% of the species of living organisms inhabiting the waters of Lake Baikal are known to science. In the old days, when science was not yet in a coma, an average of 10 new organisms were discovered per year. About 40% of plants and about 85% of animal species living in open Baikal, endemic, i.e. found only in Baikal. Living organisms in Lake Baikal are distributed from the surface to maximum depths.

There are 58 species of fish in the lake. The most famous are omul, whitefish, grayling, taimen, sturgeon, golomyanka, lenok. About 2000 species of plants grow on the coast of Lake Baikal. 200 species of birds nest on the shores. In Baikal there is a unique, typical marine mammal- Baikal seal. It is assumed that it came to Baikal from the Arctic Ocean during the ice age along the Yenisei and Angara. Currently, there are several tens of thousands of seals in the lake. In summer, in the central and northern parts of the lake, they can be seen quite often.

Lake Baikal for the majority is somewhere very far away. The origin of Lake Baikal is shrouded in legends about great catastrophes on a planetary scale, about gods and their deeds. The scientific point of view also exists - there is no mysticism in it, of course.

Lake Baikal is located on the territory Irkutsk region and Buryatia. It is considered a lake of tectonic origin. The age of Baikal is estimated differently. Some scientists put 35 million years. But the doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences A.V. Tatarinov in 2009 put forward a version that the deep-water part of Lake Baikal was formed 150 thousand years ago, and the modern coastline was only 8 thousand years old. Tatarinov substantiated such results with the results of the Mirs expedition to Baikal. So, with the age of Lake Baikal, everything is also very ambiguous.

Lake Baikal is also called the Siberian Sea.

Lake Baikal contains 19% of the world's fresh water. How much water is in Lake Baikal is estimated at 23,615 km³. There is only one lake in the world, the displacement of which is greater than in Baikal - the Caspian Sea (not everyone knows, but there is a lake along this sea).

Despite the fact that Baikal is located in, there is a lot of sun here. Climatic conditions on Baikal have their own unique features: either the sun is mercilessly frying, but cold winds are blowing, then ferocious storms are flying in, then quiet and hot weather sets in in the summer and tens of thousands of tourists flock to Lake Baikal for a beach holiday. In terms of the number of sunny days, Lake Baikal surpasses many resorts on the Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts.

The maximum depth of Lake Baikal is 1642 m. Many people write that Lake Baikal is shaped like a crescent moon. Rather, sorry if something is wrong - a banana. But very big. The length of Baikal is 620 km (as from Moscow to St. Petersburg approximately), the width reaches 80 km. The length of the coastline is 2100 km.

Lake Baikal has 27 islands, the largest of them. Many islands are sacred local residents and protected by law. In general, there are many sacred places on Baikal, the history of which is shrouded in mystery and legends. The predominant religion here is rather Buddhism, at least Buddhist symbols and objects of worship are found everywhere.

Lake Baikal water

The water temperature in Baikal is a phenomenon. In summer, only the upper layer of water and shallow coastal bays warm up in the lake. But at a depth the temperature is always constant - about +4 ° C.

The waters of Lake Baikal are a separate mystery. Lakes of this age do not have such crystal clear water, and in Baikal it is very clean. Usually, over time, lakes silt up, and after 10-15 thousand years, swamps are already in their place. Baikal not only does not grow shallow, but also contains clean water, which you can drink directly from the lake without fear. In addition, the water of Lake Baikal is saturated with oxygen to a very high degree in comparison with other freshwater reservoirs.

Lake Baikal owes its purity to a small (1.5 mm long) crustacean called epishura. There are a lot of these crustaceans in the water of the lake. They clean the water and are food for the famous Baikal omul and predatory invertebrates.

The transparency of water in Baikal is also very high. In good weather, through the 40-meter water column, you can see the bottom of the lake! In winter, Baikal also has surprisingly transparent ice. You just need to find a place that is not swept up by snow, and so to speak - feel like God - walk on the water. The water above is really frozen, but below it is the same picture - the bottom, fish, and you are walking above them.

Baikal is fed by the waters of more than 300 rivers, and only one river flows out of Baikal -.

Baikal ice

Lake Baikal does not freeze evenly in winter. Bays and bays, as well as the northern part of the lake freezes in November - December. And in the south, ice rises only in February, and if the winter is warm, then even at the end of February.

The thickness of the ice on Baikal by the end of winter reaches 1 m, and in the bays - 1.5–2 m. There is a phenomenon on Baikal that the locals call "stanovye cracks". This is when cracks appear in the ice in severe frost. They break the ice apart large fields. The length of these cracks is amazing - from 10 to 30 km, and the width is only 2-3 m. As you understand, it is better not to be in such a place at the time of the break. Breaks occur every year and in approximately the same places of the lake. The sound effect is similar to gun shots.

Such gaps save the fish in the lake from lack of oxygen. Here is such a mysterious, but necessary natural mechanism for the lake. And due to the transparency of ice, it penetrates through it sunlight, thanks to which planktonic algae that release oxygen in the water develop rapidly even in winter.

Another amazing phenomenon with ice on Baikal is ice hills. These are hollow cone-shaped ice hills that reach a height of 5-6 meters. In some of them you can find the "entrance", and it is usually located in the direction opposite to the shore. Such an ice tent turns out. Sometimes such tents stand alone, but often they are grouped, resembling mountain ranges, only in miniature.

Another one mysterious phenomenon was discovered with the help of space photography - dark rings.

The rings have a diameter of up to 7 km. Scientists came to the conclusion that the rings are formed due to the rise of water from the depths of the lake. Due to the temperature difference, a clockwise flow occurs, reaching in some zones different speeds. As a result, the ice cover is destroyed, and the shape of the destroyed areas is ring-shaped.

Shores of Lake Baikal

The landscape of the coast is very diverse. The largest part is occupied by the taiga, in some places it is swampy. There are many hard-to-pass places where there are neither roads nor settlements. But there are many such areas that look quite hospitable, sand, pines, cedars, wild rosemary. But from the side of the Tazheran steppe, in the vicinity and on the island, the landscapes of the Baikal region are different - steppes, rocks with woodlands Siberian larch.

The terrain on the coast of Lake Baikal is generally mountainous and the transport infrastructure suffers greatly because of this. Many places to drive on road transport from one settlement located on the coast to another located, you need to make a big detour of tens of kilometers. A quarter of the coast of Lake Baikal does not have public highways generally and practically uninhabited (there is a place for the Chinese to settle, they think with joy).

Bottom relief

Lake Baikal is unique in terms of bottom topography. It has its own underwater mountain ranges, the largest of which are Akademichesky and Selenginsky. These ridges divide the lake into three basins.

Earthquakes are not excluded on Baikal. More precisely, this is a common thing. But tremors usually do not exceed 2 points. But there were other cases:

in 1862, an earthquake of 10 points was recorded, as a result of which a land area in the northern part of the Selenga delta went under water
there were points about 9 points in 1903, 1950, 1957 and 1959
in 2008 - 9 points
in 2010 - 6 points

Fauna and flora of Baikal

vegetable and animal world are unique here. The lake serves as a safe haven for almost three thousand species of animals and thousands of plants. Many species are found only here. And this despite the fact that, as scientists suggest, more than 20% of the living organisms living in the lake are still unknown to science. Fishing lovers will be fine on Baikal (if the bite goes, of course). Grayling, taimen, whitefish, sturgeon, omul, lenok, golomyanka are common. There are about sixty species in total.

The top of the biosphere on Lake Baikal is occupied by the Baikal seal. There are no other mammals in this reservoir. Until now, there are heated debates about how the Baikal seal, a purely marine mammal, got to Baikal and comfortably settled down here. It is assumed that she came here in ancient times. ice age, moving from the Arctic Ocean along the Angara and the Yenisei. Now tens of thousands of animals live here.

Many animals and birds also live along the shores of Lake Baikal. Here you will meet gulls, goldeneye, there are shelducks, mergansers, white-tailed eagles, and other birds. You can see the mass bathing of brown bears (just be careful!). Musk deer, the smallest deer on Earth, lives in the mountainous part of the Baikal taiga.

Where does the name Baikal come from?

Researchers are still arguing about the origin of the name of the lake. Several guesses:

Bai-Kul - translated from Turkic means "rich lake";
Baigal - from the Mongolian "rich fire";
Baigal Dalai - in the same Mongolian means "big lake";
Beihai - in Chinese means "North Sea";
Baigal-Nuur - Buryat name;
Lamu - this is what the Evenki called the lake.

It is believed that the first explorers, who appeared here in the seventeenth century, eventually adopted the Buryat name, but softened the letter “g”, giving the name the current sound.

Tourism and recreation on Lake Baikal

There are a lot of beautiful places on Baikal. On my site you will find many stories of our tourists about trips and holidays on Baikal (see the section "Stories"). A feature of tourism on Baikal is that the places you would like to see are often located at great distances from each other. So if you want to see not everything, but many of the beauties of Lake Baikal, you need to work out a competent route. If you feel that you can’t do it yourself, contact private guides or buy a comprehensive tour to Baikal.

In any case, you will not be able to see everything on Baikal at one time. Baikal is large, to go around it all you will need more than one vacation.

The most massive tourist visit to Lake Baikal takes place, of course. in summer. Most popular places- the village of Listvyanka, the Small Sea and the island of Olkhon. People with a small budget, and even the most demanding, will find a place for themselves. Lake Baikal is visited not only by Russians, but by many tourists from all over the world. The latter, moreover, sometimes give fabulous money for such a vacation, but they still go.

In general, judging by the reviews, holidays on Lake Baikal are not among the cheapest, especially if you need to travel from other than nearby cities. Nevertheless, Baikal sets attendance records - the number of tourists is estimated at seven figures per year.

In summer, people relax on the beaches, visit bicycle and car tours, go to hiking along the coast. There are rafting on the rivers flowing into Baikal, and much more.

Climbing cliffs, mountains and descents into grottoes and caves are popular in all seasons.

Fishing

There are a lot of fish in Baikal and lovers find a variety of places in the hope of catching omul or other fish on their own. For the most gambling, there are specialized bases with different levels of comfort. Fishing is done on rented boats.

The most popular places for fishing on Baikal are Chivyrkuisky Bay, Mukhor Bay, shallow bays of the Small Sea and, of course, rivers flowing into the lake.

Lake Baikal in winter

Despite the harshness of the Siberian climate, there are people who like to come to Lake Baikal in winter. Fantastic ice world Baikal is mesmerizing. Snowmobiling and dog sledding are popular.

Most Popular Attractions

Many historical and architectural sights, even more monuments of nature and culture are concentrated on Baikal.

One of the most famous attractions is shaman stone. This is a pair of boulders rising above the water at the source of the Angara. Locals have been worshiping these stones since time immemorial and consider them endowed with special powers.

Another rock, the photo of which is unusually distributed on the Internet at the request of "Baikal" and "Olkhon Island" - Rock Shamanka. Also sacred place for the Buryats, access here for tourists was not always open.

Also on the island of Olkhon there are many other cult and historical sites. Olkhon is good because in the summer you can sunbathe there, swim, and visit a bunch of excursions or travel around the island on your own.

Holiday seasons on Baikal

Baikal is beautiful in all seasons. Summer, as well as throughout Russia, is the most popular season. The warmest from the second half of July to the beginning of August. Since November, it has become not very hospitable here, until the ice rises. In March and early April, tourists flock to Lake Baikal, especially those who like to take photos. The reason for this is the sparkling, transparent ice of Baikal. There is another one - ice fishing. In spring, Baikal is also very beautiful, severe frosts and there are no more winds. Winter lovers find a combination weather conditions and the beauty of the scenery is very attractive.

Relax on Baikal, enjoy its nature and energy. Take care of Lake Baikal, do not leave dumps behind you, do not arrange logging. This lake is thousands of years old, and after many, many years, it needs to be as beautiful and attractive as it is now.

Baikal - large lake in Russia, in the south of Eastern Siberia, is located in a basin surrounded by mountain ranges. Administratively, it is located within the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia.

In contact with

Classmates

Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Yuri Samoilov / flickr.com Vera & Jean-Christophe / flickr.com Délirante bestiole / flickr.com Vladislav Bezrukov / flickr.com fennU2 / flickr.com -5m / flickr.com Vladislav Bezrukov / flickr.com Voyages Lambert / flickr.com Vera & Jean-Christophe / flickr.com Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Kyle Taylor / flickr.com Seal on Lake Baikal (Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com) Thomas Depenbusch / flickr.com Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Kyle Taylor / flickr.com Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com seseg_h / flickr.com Richard Thomas / flickr.com Daniel Beilinson / flickr.com NASA's Earth Observatory / flickr.com Clay Gilliland / flickr.com Aleksandr Zykov / flickr.com Aleksandr Zykov / flickr.com Aleksandr Zykov / flickr.com

This is the deepest lake in the world, its greatest depth reaches 1642 meters. It is also the world's largest natural reservoir of fresh water. The lake basin has tectonic origin and is a rift.

Lake Baikal is one of the most interesting natural attractions in Russia. Since 1996 it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The size of this reservoir is really impressive. The length of the lake from southwest to northeast is 620 km, and its width varies from 24 to 80 km. The area of the reservoir is 31,722 sq. km, and the length of its coastline is 2100 km.

Baikal is the deepest lake in the world with the greatest depth of 1642 meters. At the same time, the average depth of this unique reservoir reaches 744 meters. The volume of water is 23,615 cubic meters. km, which is approximately 19% of the total volume of fresh lake water in the world. The water mirror is located at absolute elevations of 456-457 m.

More than 300 different streams flow into Lake Baikal, the largest of which are the Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin, Turka, etc. The only river flowing out of the lake is the Angara.

Baikal has 27 islands, the largest of which is Olkhon. Its area is 729 sq. km. The length of this island is more than 70 km, and the width is up to 15 km.

The water level in Baikal is subject to fluctuations. The difference between the highest and lowest annual levels usually does not exceed 23 centimeters. However, these seemingly small fluctuations lead to an increase or decrease in the volume of lake water by about 3 cubic kilometers. The level of Lake Baikal depends mainly on the amount of precipitation falling on the territory of its catchment area.

Baikal climate

During the cold period, it is always slightly warmer near the lake, and during the warm period it is cooler than in the surrounding area. In this respect, the Baikal climate is similar to that of the sea.

Mirror Baikal (Yuri Samoilov / flickr.com)

As in the case of the sea, such climate features are due to the fact that in summer the huge volume of lake water accumulates a huge amount of heat, and then, in autumn and winter, it gives this heat back. This is how the softening effect of the lake on the sharply continental climate of Eastern Siberia, which is characterized by strong contrast, is manifested.

The warming effect of the lake extends for about 50 km from its shores. In the cold season, the temperature on the coast of Lake Baikal can be 8-10 degrees higher than away from the lake, and in the warm season it is just as much lower than the temperatures of the surrounding area. Usually, this difference is about 5 degrees. Baikal smooths out not only annual, but also daily temperature fluctuations.

To a large extent, the climate of Lake Baikal is determined by its inland location, as well as the height of the mirror above sea level.

Average annual temperature and precipitation

The average annual temperature varies from 0.7 degrees below zero (in the south) to 3.6 degrees below zero (in the north). The highest average temperature is recorded in Peschanaya Bay in the west of the reservoir. It is 0.4 degrees above zero, which makes this bay the warmest place in all of Eastern Siberia.

The slopes of the mountains of the eastern and southeast coast Baikal (1000 - 1200 mm), and the minimum - west coast lakes, Olkhon island and downstream Selengi (less than 200 mm).

Ice on Baikal

Baikal is under ice for about five months a year. The time of ice cover establishment varies from the last week of October (shallow bays) to the beginning of January (deep water areas).

Winter evening on Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia (Thomas Depenbusch / flickr.com)

Spring ice drift begins at the end of April, and the lake is completely free of ice only in the first half of June.

Ice thickness by the end of winter is about one meter, in bays - up to two meters. The ice of Lake Baikal is interesting because, in especially severe frosts, it is torn apart by cracks into separate ice fields. The width of such cracks reaches 2-3 m, and their length is many kilometers.

The cracking of the ice cover is accompanied by loud rolling sounds. In addition, Baikal ice is famous for its amazing transparency.

Wind

A characteristic feature of the Baikal climate is its winds, each of which has its own name. The most powerful wind of Lake Baikal is the sarma, the speed of which reaches 40 m/s, and sometimes up to 60 m/s. This is a strong squally wind blowing in the central part of the lake, from the valley of the Sarma River. Other Baikal winds: barguzin, verkhovik, mountain, kultuk and shelonnik.

Another one interesting feature local climate- a very large number of clear days per year, the number of which is even more than Black Sea coast Caucasus.

Nature of Baikal: flora and fauna

Baikal flora is very diverse and rich, it includes more than 1000 plant species. The slopes of the mountains located along the shores of the lake are usually covered with taiga.

Baikal cow, Siberia, Russia (Daniel Beilinson / flickr.com)

Siberian cedar and larch are found in abundance in the local forests. Birch, poplar, aspen, currant, etc. grow along the rivers. As for aquatic plants, there are approximately 210 species of algae. The Baikal fauna is represented by more than 2600 species and subspecies, more than a thousand of which are endemic. The 27 species of fish that live in the lake do not live in any other body of water in the world.

There are many kinds of fish in Baikal. Most unusual is the viviparous golomyanka fish, which is endemic to Lake Baikal. The main commercial fish is the Baikal omul. More than 80% of the total zooplankton biomass is another endemic species, the epishura crustacean. This crustacean is engaged in water purification, playing the role of a filter, and also serves as an important part of the diet of the Baikal omul and other organisms.

Nerpa on Baikal (Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com)

Another well-known endemic of the lake is the Baikal seal, which is the only freshwater seal in the world. The largest rookeries of this most interesting animal are located on the Ushkany Islands, in the central part of Lake Baikal.

There is still debate among scientists about how the Baikal seal entered the lake, which is located so far from the oceans. It is assumed that it penetrated Baikal from the Arctic Ocean along the Yenisei and Angara during the Ice Age. Of the animals that live in the Baikal forests, one can note the brown bear, wolverine, musk deer, red deer, elk, fox, squirrel, etc.

236 species of birds live on Baikal, of which 29 species are waterfowl. Ducks and gulls are found here in large numbers. Also, you can meet geese, screaming swans, gray heron, black-throated diver, golden eagle, etc.

Ecology

The unique nature of Baikal is notable for its fragility. All living organisms here are very sensitive to the slightest change conditions environment. The process of decomposition of pollutants in the lake is very slow. The ever-increasing anthropogenic load cannot but affect this fragile ecosystem.

Boat on Baikal (-5m / flickr.com)

Of the enterprises located directly on the banks of the reservoir, the most famous is the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill, founded back in the 1960s.

The bottom runoff of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill spreads along the underwater slope of the Baikal depression. The area of the pollution spot covers about 299 sq. km. Due to bottom runoff, the pulp and paper mill degrades the bottom ecosystems of Lake Baikal, and the emissions of this enterprise into the atmosphere negatively affect the adjacent taiga.

Despite many protests by environmentalists and activists, the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill continued to produce pulp until the end of 2013. Now the plant has stopped its work, however, it will take many more years to eliminate its waste and restore the environment.

The pollution of the nature of this unique reservoir did not end at all with the closure of the pulp and paper mill. A major source of pollution of the lake is its most important tributary, the Selenga River, in the basin of which such big cities, as Ulan Bator and Ulan-Ude, as well as numerous industrial enterprises in Mongolia and Buryatia.

Partial pollutants come even from the territory of the Trans-Baikal Territory, from settlements located along the tributaries of the Selenga. Most of treatment facilities in small settlements of Buryatia are not fully able to cope with wastewater treatment.

Serious damage to the flora and fauna of the reservoir is caused by poachers.

Tourism

Lake Baikal is one of the most popular tourist sites in Russia, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. world heritage. The starting points of most trips to the deepest lake in the world are Irkutsk ( southwestern part reservoir), Ulan-Ude (east of the lake) and Severobaikalsk (northern tip). Of these cities, it is most convenient to start your route directly to the lake.

An old motorcycle on the background of Lake Baikal (Vladislav Bezrukov / flickr.com)

To the south of Irkutsk, at the mouth of the Angara, is the village of Listvyanka, which is the most popular resort on Baikal. There is a developed tourism infrastructure in addition, numerous excursions are organized from here. On southwest coast the reservoir is also the city of Slyudyanka and Baikalsk. On east coast the recreational zone Baikalskaya Gavan is located.

Another well-known center of attraction for tourists is Olkhon Island, which is distinguished by a variety of natural landscapes. Olkhon can be reached by ferry from the village of Sakhyurta; the largest settlement of the island is the village of Khuzhir, where there is a fairly developed tourist infrastructure.

The continent of Asia boasts the most scenic and deep lake called Baikal.

The depth of the lake at its lowest point is 1642 meters, and the average is 730 meters. The area of the lake is 31722 sq. m. The lake is considered the cleanest, because the transparency is 40 meters.

So beautiful and clear lake Baikal takes its place in the list of 7 wonders of Russia with honor.

Scientists still dispute the exact origin of the lake. The approximate age of Lake Baikal is from 25 to 35 million years, and this is surprising.

The average lifespan of lakes is 10-15 thousand years, after which the lakes either dry up or turn into swamps.

Scientists have noticed that Baikal continues to develop and does not begin to dry up.

There are a lot of legends about the origin of the lake, as well as the names. Lake Baikal has the shape of a crescent. There are 27 islands on the area of the lake, of which 5 are flooded. Most large island is called the Holy Nose.

Many rivers flow into Lake Baikal, which periodically dry up, but there are 336 rivers that constantly support the filling of the lake. Angara is the only river that flows into the lake.

Due to severe frosts in winter period lake Baikal freezes. The thickness of the ice on the lake is on average 1 meter, but can reach up to 2 meters.

Baikal has a rather rich underwater world. There are 1085 different plant species and about 1550 different fish species in the lake.

There is a unique fish in the lake - Baikal omul. Omul meat has a very pleasant taste, it is served in any form: fried, smoked, dried.

There is also a grayling fish that lives only in Lake Baikal. There are white and black grayling. The white one lives only in Baikal, while the black one also lives near the rivers flowing into the lake.

The water in the lake contains almost no mineral salts, it can be considered distilled. For quite a long time, water from the lake was drunk in order to heal and prevent diseases. But drinking water can be collected only in some places that experienced guides know.

Baikal is very beautiful lake worth a look for everyone.

Option 2

Someday everyone heard that Baikal is a very large lake, but now, those who have not seen it think that these are just words. Let us now analyze that the distance between northern capital and just the capital of our country directly 635 kilometers.

The length of the lake is 620 kilometers, it turns out that if you place the lake between Moscow and St. Petersburg, 90% of the way can be sailed. Another example, the distance from the center of Moscow to the Moscow Ring Road is about 20 km, while the width of the “rich water”, as it was called in the past, is 80 km.

Is Baikal a promising ocean?

Most often, ice age lakes exist only for 15 thousand years, and after that they begin to fade and completely disappear. But Baikal is not one of those, it is not going to disappear, but on the contrary, scientists suggest that Baikal will soon become an ocean. This is also associated with earthquakes in Baikal, usually these are shocks no higher than 2 points, but stronger ones have also been recorded, for example, the last shake of 6 points in 2010. There is only one reason for these two phenomena - this is the expansion of the lake, due to the appearance of a crack between the Amur and Siberian platforms, which diverges at a rate of 3-4 mm per year. But the moment when Baikal becomes “a little bigger” will happen only after a few million years.

"Population" of the lake

There are a lot of animals and plants on and in the lake, and some of them live only here. Why? Yes, just because here amazing water it contains only 0.1 g/l of salt and 14 mg/l of oxygen. This feature makes it possible for 2600 species of aquatic inhabitants to live. The variety of fish can neither attract fishermen. body of water inhabited by at least 58 species of fish, for example, omul, grayling, whitefish, taimen, Baikal sturgeon, lenok, golomyanka (a unique fish consisting of 30% fat). There are more than 2,000 species of plants and nesting birds. Only the Baikal seal lives here, as well as the dwarf deer - musk deer.

Landmark of Baikal

In addition to the fact that Baikal itself is a huge attraction, it is fraught with even more beauty than it seems at first glance. Ukovsky waterfall is a wonderful place and if you have the opportunity to visit Baikal, you should definitely look there.

Uk is a tributary of the Uda River, at the mouth of which there is a pearl - a waterfall, which is a wonderful monument of nature, where tourists and foreign tourists from all over the world seek.

Passing to Udu, the river Uk cleared a basalt gorge, the walls of which are higher than 40 meters, the height of this natural monument is 20 meters, and the width is 10 meters. But both the waterfall and the power of the water, which carved an extraordinarily beautiful gorge in the rock, are interesting.

About tourism

The most pleasant time for a trip to Baikal starts from mid-summer and ends on the 20th of August. The rest of the time, the water either has not warmed up yet, or cold winds have already arrived. If there is a desire to feel the beautiful and fabulous Russian winter, then it is better to come to Baikal in late winter - early spring, when the lake is captivated by the strongest (1.5 m thick) and most transparent ice. The main thing for a holiday without trouble is to clearly plan all travel. And carry a first aid kit with you.

Baikal - report 3

Russia is rich not only in useful and precious minerals, but also in picturesque and mysterious places. One of such majestic places is Lake Baikal.

It is not only the largest and deepest, but also the oldest. His age could not be accurately determined, but it does not matter, the main thing is that it is on the territory of our country. There are many legends about him. This is the largest reservoir of not just water, but fresh water. The lake is crescent shaped and surrounded on all sides mountain ranges overgrown with dense forests. In some places, the human foot has not yet had time to set foot. And it's great! There are still places untouched by civilization, where animals, birds and insects live carefree.

The climate of Lake Baikal is unique. It's always blowing here strong wind, which has its own names. It blows along the coast, where it is simply impossible to hide from them. Baikal water affects temperature regime, winters are quite mild, and summers are cool, despite the fact that the temperature can be plus 35 degrees. Swimming is cool too. IN winter time the waters of Baikal are covered with wonderful clear ice. The lake freezes in January and only in early May is freed from ice captivity.

Clouds over the lake appear very rarely due to the evaporation of cold water. Accordingly, there is practically no rain and cloudy, but it is always sunny. There are few gloomy days, only about 40 for the whole year.

Cities are located away from the coast. Only in the village of Listvyanka, which is the closest of all settlements, you can stop. The tourist infrastructure is well developed here. It is in the village that the famous nerpinary is located, not far from the very source of the Angara is the Shaman-stone, here, according to legend, shamanic rites took place. Only one river, the beautiful Angara, flows out of the lake, into which many small and large rivers flow. The most big river, which flows into it Selenga.

In the vicinity of the great and mighty lake there is a zone subject to constant earthquakes. There are a lot of invisible ones, sometimes their number reaches 8 thousand a year. Strong ones happen every 2 years and destructive power once every 10 years.

There is a separate law on the protection of the nature of the mysterious Lake Baikal.

Those who love travel and tourism come to Baikal. The most popular places are the bays Barguzinsky, Chivyrkuysky, Polsky Bor. There are many others on the lake interesting places which you can visit.

Syntax what is being studied and why is it needed in Russian
Syntax is a section of linguistics that studies how and with what help words and word forms are combined into phrases and sentences, how complex ones are formed from simple sentences.
Zebra - message report
Zebras are animals belonging to the horse family and there are 3 species: the savannah zebra, which is found in the grasslands of eastern and southern Africa; Grevy's zebra, common in arid, sparsely populated areas of Kenya
Arctic Ocean - message report
The Arctic Ocean is recognized as smaller in area and depth compared to the rest of the planet's oceans. It is located in the northern hemisphere, between North America and Eurasia. It has a large number of ice.
Nigeria - message report grade 7 in geography
Nigeria is often referred to as the "Giant of Africa". This name comes from the vastness of its land, the diversity of its peoples and languages, its huge population (the largest in Africa), oil and other natural resources.
Battle of Borodino 1812 summary
Biggest Event Patriotic War 1812 happened on August 26, 125 kilometers from Moscow. The battle on the Borodino field is one of the bloodiest battles of the 19th century.

Baikal is one of the greatest and the most beautiful lakes peace!

It is the deepest (1620m), the largest in terms of volume of pure fresh water (20% of world reserves), the most unique lake in terms of the uniqueness of the animal world. Baikal is a classic example of a tectonic lake-reservoir formed as a result of tectonic processes. Baikal lies in deep depression surrounded by mountain ranges. Baikal is one of the oldest lakes in the world: it is 25 million years old. The shores of the lake diverge at a rate of 2 cm per year, and in the future it may turn into real ocean. More than 300 rivers flow into Baikal. The largest of them is the Selenga. Only one river flows out of Baikal - the Angara. In 1959, the dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station was built on the Angara, and the lake was connected to the newly created reservoir. The water level in the lake has risen by about one meter. The bergs of Baikal are high and steep. Low banks are found only at the mouths of tributaries, which form vast deltas at their confluence. Among the few bays, the largest are Barguzinsky and Chyvyrkuisky. Almost a bay is considered the Maloe More strait, separated from the main water area (Big Sea) by the largest island in Baikal - Olkhon (an area of about 730 sq. km). There are about 20 islands, but they are small and rocky. The water in Baikal is dark blue, bright blue shades are observed in June; transparency in some places reaches 40 m. An interesting fact is that in Baikal the water is fresher than in the rivers flowing into it, and its mineralization decreases with depth. Scientists believe that at the bottom of Baikal there is a powerful permanent source of super fresh water. But the reliability of this hypothesis has yet to be proven. The average annual water temperature of Lake Baikal is 4.5 degrees in the south and 3 in the middle part. In August-September, the water warms up to 12 degrees, near the coast - sometimes 20. The water temperature in the deep layers is constantly kept at around 3.2 degrees. In winter, the lake freezes over. The ice becomes transparent through it, it is quite clearly visible to a depth of 8-10 meters. Due to its stormy temper, Baikal occupies one of the first places among the lakes of the world, the height of waves during a storm reaches 4 meters. The unique flora and fauna have made Baikal world-famous as a unique natural museum. More than 2.6 thousand species of plants and animals live in the lake. Almost 2/3 of them live only in this reservoir. Among them are the Baikal seal and the viviparous golomyanka fish. The unique animal and plant world contributes to the preservation of the purity of Baikal waters. However, if even one of the links of a very complex and strictly balanced ecological system is disturbed, then the whole of it will be destroyed. From all of the above, we can safely say that Baikal is the pearl of Russia.