Origin of Baikal. General information about Baikal

Baikal is one of the wonders of Russia. The depth of Lake Baikal is a record. The African Lake Tanganyika, which follows it, has a depth that is 200 meters less. The reservoir is popular with tourists and explorers. Until now, the secrets of Baikal have not been fully disclosed and excite scientists.

Where is

Located almost in the center of Eurasia, in Western Siberia, on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Buryat Republic, Baikal has the shape of a huge crescent. In terms of area, it is equivalent to the Netherlands, Belgium or Denmark. Surrounded by mountains and hills, the reservoir occupies a huge pit. The question of how deep Lake Baikal is is very interesting. We will tell about this later, and now we will describe the relief of the coast. In the eastern part it is relatively flat, the mountains are tens of kilometers away. The western shore of the lake is mountainous.

The Baikal area is seismically active. Earthquakes of small magnitude occur regularly, and there are strong ones, the echoes of which are felt even in Irkutsk. So, in the second half of the 19th century, an earthquake with a force of 10 points occurred. As a result, a land plot of 200 square meters was flooded. km, where 1300 people lived. Strong tremors were noted in 1959 (9 points), in 2008 (9 points) and 2010 (6 points).

The history of the lake and the name

For a long time it was believed that the age of Baikal is 25-30 million years. But recent studies of the relief of the bottom of the lake with its mud volcanoes have shown that it is up to 150 thousand years old. In this regard, Baikal is also unique, because the average age of lakes of a similar origin is 10-15 thousand years.

The rift basin, in which Baikal is located, is similar in structure to the Dead Sea basin. Its depth is the depth of Baikal. The opinions of scientists on the formation of the basin differ.

There are 3 versions:

The depression is the result of a transform fault.
The depression arose as a result of the action of a hot mantle flow under the lake.
The depression was formed as a result of minor collisions of Hindustan and the Eurasian plate.

Obviously, as a result of seismic activity, the relief of the bottom of Lake Baikal is changing and is still subsiding.

The origin of the name of the lake is unclear, but all four points of view reflect the greatness of the reservoir and indirectly indicate how deep Baikal is: Japanese - "great water", Turkic - "rich lake", Mongolian - "rich fire" and Chinese - "northern sea" . In our country, the modern name began to be used in the 17th century, it was borrowed from the Buryats (Beigkhel): in Russian the word was assimilated and the usual pronunciation was established - Baikal.

Features of the landscape and climate

The record depth of Baikal and the vast area of the watershed determine the local climate. Mild winters, but rather cool summers, long autumns and long springs - these are the climatic characteristics of the areas adjacent to the lake. Also, the weather of Lake Baikal is affected by local specific winds, such as barguzin or kultuk. Because of the current winds, Baikal is referred to as the most restless lakes in the world.

Another remarkable property of the climate is mirages, which appear up to 7 times a year and last for 5-6 hours. They arise due to the difference in air temperature between the surface of the water and the space above it. Mirages occur due to the refraction of rays. Landscape objects can visually rise above the water surface so that the horizon is visible. Another kind of mirage is when natural objects that are thousands of kilometers distant optically approach.

Baikal waters: features and currents

Since ancient times, the water of the lake has fascinated the locals: they idolized it, they treated it. It is saturated with oxygen, close in composition to distilled water, and due to the action of microorganisms, it is practically devoid of minerals. The volume of Baikal water is 90% of Russia's fresh water reserves and 20% of the world's. For comparison: there is more water in our great lake than in the 5 largest American lakes combined.

The transparency of Baikal water is surprising: visibility reaches 40 meters. True, this figure can drop to 10 meters during the flowering period of plants. Depending on the time of year and the activity of plants and microorganisms, Baikal water changes its color from bright blue in cold weather to green in summer and autumn.

Baikal is saturated with 336 rivers and streams constantly flowing into it. Turka, Snezhnaya, Upper Angara, Sarma are the largest of them. The Angara is the only river flowing from Lake Baikal.

Depth indicators

How deep is Lake Baikal? It is determined by the origin and parameters of the depression in which the lake is located. The last depth studies were carried out in 1983, they were confirmed in 2002. The lake is fascinating: with an average of 730 meters, the maximum depth of Baikal is 1630 meters. There are two more lakes on Earth with a depth of more than 1000 meters: Tanganyika and the Caspian Sea. Moreover, in the latter, the water is salty, not fresh. Even the average depth of Baikal is amazing - few lakes on Earth can boast a value of 730 meters.

Currents act on the surface of Lake Baikal, encircling its shores and the largest islands. In certain places (the western coast of the Small Sea), the current is quite strong, so even in calm weather, ships drift. The decrease in the intensity of water movement is affected by the depth of Lake Baikal in a given place and the distance from the coastline.

Flora and fauna

Baikal is unique in its flora and fauna: two thirds of animal representatives live exclusively here. Oxygenated water provides a favorable environment for the reproduction of species. Scientists have discovered only 70% of the fauna of Baikal. Epishura crustaceans form the basis of the lake's food chain, in addition, they perform an important function of water purification - they pass it through themselves. The fauna of Baikal has 56 species of fish. Among them is a unique species - golomyanka. The fish is interesting in that it does not lay eggs, but gives birth to fry alive. The golomyanka is 43% fat; in search of food, it migrates from great depths to shallow ones.

Nerpa is the only mammal that lives on Lake Baikal.

From the plant world, sponges can be noted, which grow at great depths and are the oldest inhabitants of Baikal.

The uniqueness of the lake is recognized all over the world. Not only the depth of Baikal is taken into account, but also its unique ecosystem. The climate, geographical features of the lake attract tourists and scientists from all over the world.

Lake Baikal is the deepest on the planet Earth, as well as the richest in fresh water (slightly less than 20% of the world's reserves are concentrated in this reservoir). Let's get acquainted with the origin of the basin of Lake Baikal and learn some interesting facts about it.

Description of the reservoir

This amazing lake is located in Eastern Siberia, on the border of the Buryat Republic and the Irkutsk region. The features of the reservoir are:

Area - more than 31 thousand square meters. km.
Volume - more than 23,615 cubic meters. km.
The length of the coastline is 2.1 thousand km.
The length of Lake Baikal is over 630 km.
The deepest section is 1.6 km.
Average depth - 740 m.
More than 330 rivers flow into it, the largest of which are the Barguzin, Selenga, Turka, Upper Angara.

The reservoir has the shape of a crescent, the width of which is from 25 to almost 80 km. Interestingly, the giant lake is equal in size to the areas of such states as Denmark or Belgium. Located on the territory of the Asian part of the Russian Federation, Baikal is surrounded on all sides by mountains and hills, in the west its coast is steep, towards the east it becomes gentle.

Briefly about depth

This unusual reservoir is a true leader, since the greatest depth of Lake Baikal is 1637 meters. This value was identified during a hydrographic survey in 1983. The data were later confirmed in 2002, during a joint study by several countries:

Russia;
Belgium;
Spain.

It is interesting that the surface of the lake is located at an altitude of just over 450 m above the level of the World Ocean, while the lowest point is located at a depth of more than 1180 m below sea level. Therefore, the bowl of the deepest lake on the planet becomes the deepest among the continental depressions.

The average depth indicator is also amazing, more than 744 meters. It is known that there are only two lakes on the planet with places more than a kilometer deep:

Tanganyika.
The Caspian Sea (despite the name, this is also a lake).

But the deepest section of Baikal is almost 200 meters higher than the similar place of Tanganyika.

Origin theories

Consider the origin of Lake Baikal, which is currently not fully understood and is controversial in the scientific world. First, here are the scientific facts that are recognized by all researchers:

The reservoir is located in the rift basin.
Its structure is in many ways reminiscent of the Dead Sea.

But what caused the formation of this fault? Further opinions of scientists differ:

According to the first theory, Lake Baikal, whose area is more than 31 thousand km 2, is located in the area of a transform fault. That is why it has become so profound.
There is an opinion that there is a mantle plume under the reservoir.
Another version - the collision of the Eurasian plate and Hindustan (which in those eras was an independent continent) led to changes in the surface of the Earth, it was then that the highest mountain peaks of the Himalayas and the Baikal depression were formed. However, later this hypothesis was criticized, since scientists were able to prove that by the time the Himalayas were formed, the platforms of the earth's crust, on the border of which the depression is located, had already been formed and colossal changes did not affect them.
The outpouring of basalt on the surface led to the appearance of vacuum centers and subsidence of the depression.

How do researchers explain the origin of the Baikal basin? It is believed that it is the central part of the Baikal Rift Zone. Under the depression, processes of heating of the bowels take place, the substance of which, spreading, creates horizontal stretching. In turn, they contribute to the formation of new faults and the opening of ancient ones, the lowering of entire blocks and the formation of depressions.

Detailed description of the process

Let us describe in detail the origin of Lake Baikal, which is essentially rift. At the same time, the word "rift" refers to a break in the earth's crust, shaped like a crack or ditch. The Baikal rift is very long, its length is more than 2.5 thousand km, it extends in the central part of Asia from Yakutia to Mongolia. And the lake is located in the central part of the fault, in its deepest area.

The maximum depth of the rift was calculated: the deepest point of the lake (1637 m) + rock fragments, dead animals and plant organisms (approximately 8 km) = 9637 meters.

How did the fracture itself form?

Under the influence of high temperatures, the earth's crust became thinner and covered with cracks.
This process was accompanied by earthquakes and the appearance of faults.
The completion of the process was the appearance of the rift zone.

It is possible that the collision of Hindustan and Eurasia somehow affected the process, corrected it, but could not be the root cause.

The lake continues to form

From almost all sides, the lake basin is surrounded by tectonic depressions:

Upper Angarsk - in the north;
Barguzinskaya - in the northeast;
Onotskaya and Malomorsko-Buguldeiskaya - in the west;
Khubsugulskaya and Tunkinskaya - in the southwest.

Interestingly, the formation of the reservoir cannot be considered a fully completed process; regular earthquakes continue to modify the relief of Baikal. Minor earthquakes here are a constant phenomenon, but sometimes real disasters occur here:

In 1862, as a result of a shaking of the earth's crust with a force of about 10 points, an entire piece of land went under water, forming Proval Bay (its depth is about 6 meters).
In 1959, a 9.5 magnitude earthquake caused the bottom of the lake to sink 20 meters.

The researchers found that the shores of the lake are moving away from one another by about 2 cm annually. This is also due to seismic activity. This fact allowed some scientists to make a bold assumption that Baikal is not a lake, but an ocean at the stage of its inception. In 100 million years, according to this version, Asia will split, a new ocean will appear in place of the reservoir.

Now there are no active volcanoes on the lake, but traces of their activity in past eras continue to be studied by scientists.

Ice influence

Despite the tectonic origin of Lake Baikal, the features of its relief were seriously influenced by the Ice Age. Evidence that the lake has collided with glaciers can be found by analyzing rock fragments located at its bottom. In the scientific literature, they are referred to as bottom moraines. Also, traces of the ice age are bottom sediments and sediments. They allow us to conclude that the thickness of the glaciers moving along the lake was at least 80 meters, but not more than 120 meters.

Scientists have found that the permanent ice cover, most likely, did not fetter the Baikal waters, otherwise life in the lake would be impossible. Meanwhile, researchers managed to discover life forms that formed long before the glaciers:

Sponges.
Flatworms.
amphipods.

They indicate that there was no permanent ice cover on the lake.

Age

The age of Lake Baikal also causes an equal amount of controversy. There are several positions:

It is traditionally considered that the reservoir is unique: from 25 to 35 million years are attributed to it, which is uncharacteristic for glacial reservoirs, as a rule, they exist for no more than 15 thousand years, after which they become covered with sediments, silt or swamp.
In 2009, Doctor of Sciences Tatarinov expressed the idea that the deepest parts of the reservoir are no more than 150 thousand years old, and the coastline is much younger - about 8 thousand years old. This hypothesis even has a number of indirect evidence that were obtained during the study, namely the analysis of the activity of bottom mud volcanoes.

There is also a hypothesis that the outlines of the great lake were laid at the end of the Mesozoic period, that is, when the planet acquired its modern appearance and the continents were formed. This process took place 60 million years ago. However, a fact was previously indicated that refutes this version.

Water properties

Having considered the origin of Lake Baikal, we learn the properties of its water:

She is transparent. Objects can be seen even at a distance of 40 meters.
The color depends on the season: in spring it is blue, in summer and autumn it is densely covered with vegetation, acquiring a blue-green hue.
Rich in oxygen.
It contains a very meager amount of dissolved minerals and salts, so it can be used as distilled.
Very cold, the average temperature on the surface in summer rarely exceeds +9 °C, only in some bays it reaches +15 °C. In the depths the temperature is up to +3...+4 °C.

Ice on the lake appears in the second week of January and stays until the beginning of May, covering the entire reservoir, except for a small area at the source of the Angara (no more than 20 km in length). Interestingly, the ice is also very transparent, it passes the sun's rays through its thickness, which is why plankton actively develops in the depths of the lake.

Bottom Features

We examined the origin of Lake Baikal, now let's see what the specifics of its bottom are. First of all, this is a pronounced relief:

Shelves and underwater slopes are scattered along the coast.
There are three basins (Southern, Middle, Northern).
It is possible to note the presence of underwater ridges (Academic, Selenginsky).
There are also underwater banks.

These are the features of the bottom of Lake Baikal. Thanks to modern research, it was possible to establish that the highest mountains of the planet, whose height is more than 7 km, are flooded in this amazing reservoir. The thickness of bottom sediments is more than 6 km.

Let's get acquainted with a selection of interesting cognitive facts about the amazing reservoir - the pearl of Siberia:

In Lake Baikal, whose area is 31,722 km, it is forbidden to catch sturgeon. And the total number of fish species that live here is more than 2 thousand.
Despite the fact that the reservoir is a lake, not a sea, waves up to 5 m high and even storms are periodically observed here.
Larch trees grow on the coast of the amazing lake, the age of which is more than 700 years.
The length of Lake Baikal is 636 km.
In the waters of Lake Baikal there are 60-year-old long-lived sturgeons.
The most non-standard inhabitant of the lake is a transparent fish, almost completely consisting of fatty tissues, the golomyanka is viviparous.

We examined the origin of Lake Baikal and learned that, despite numerous studies, this unusual body of water has not yet revealed all its secrets to mankind.

Lake Baikal is one of the most beautiful and picturesque places not only in the Asian part of our country, but on the whole planet. This ancient lake (its age is approximately 25-35 million years), lying in a rift basin, is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. It is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth, 22% of all the purest and most transparent water in the world and 85% of Russia are concentrated here. The volume of water is 23 thousand km 3 (these are the five Great Lakes in the United States taken together). In addition to the value of huge fresh water reserves, which due to its low mineralization (100 g/l) can be safely equated with distilled water, it should also be noted that Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and since 1996 has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Geographical position

Lake Baikal, which has the shape of a crescent elongated from southwest to northeast, is located almost in the very center of the Eurasian continent, in Central Asia, in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. The ancient rift basin of glacial origin, in which the lake basin is located, lies in the Baikal mountain region, surrounded by high peaks of mountain ranges and hills overgrown with dense forests (the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia in the Russian Federation).

Characteristics of Lake Baikal

The area of the lake is 31.7 thousand km 2, this is the seventh place in the world after the Caspian Sea-lake, lakes Victoria, Taganika, Huron, Michigan, Upper or the area of the countries of Belgium or the Netherlands. The lake is 636 km long, it is widest in the center (81 km), narrowest - near the delta of the Serenga River (27 km).

The average depth of the lake is 744.4 m higher than the maximum depths of many lakes in the world, its maximum depth, measured by Soviet scientists Kolotilo and Sulimov in 1983, was 1640 m, which made Baikal the deepest lake in the world.

The lake lies in a glacial rift basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. The length of the coastline is 2 thousand km, the western coast is rocky and steep, the eastern coast is more gentle, the mountains are located tens of kilometers from the coast. The water area of the lake has six bays (Barguzinsky, Chivyrkuisky, Proval, Posolsky, Cherkalov, Mukhor), two dozen bays (Listvennaya, Peschanaya, Aya, many closed shallow bays called sory. The only river flows out of the lake - the Angara, flows into more than 336 rivers and rivulets, among the large ones one can name the Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin, Snezhnaya, Kichera, etc.

Temperature regime of water

Water, due to its low mineralization, is distinguished by amazing purity, transparency (can be seen to a depth of 40 meters), oxygen saturation. In spring, the water is especially transparent and has a rich blue-blue color; in summer, as a result of the development of organic matter, the transparency decreases and the waters acquire a blue-green tint. The average annual temperature of the water surface is about +4°С, in summer the water is +16, +17°С, in the sors it reaches +22,+23°С.

Baikal is almost completely covered with ice (1-2 meters) from January to May (with the exception of a small area 15-20 km at the source of the Angara). One of the amazing mysteries of Lake Baikal is the appearance in winter of huge dark rings on the ice, which are visible only from a height. Presumably, they are formed as a result of the release of methane from the depths of the lake, and this contributes to the formation of huge steams with a diameter of hundreds of meters with a very thin layer of ice.

Winds on Baikal

Distinctive features of Baikal's climate are its winds, they blow almost always, their maximum wind speed is 40 m/s. There are more than 30 names of the winds blowing there: the wind of the northwestern direction is mountainous, the northeastern wind is barguzin, verkhovik), the southeastern wind is shelonnik, the southwestern wind is kultuk, the sarma is the wind blowing in the center of Baikal. They blow mainly along the coast, on which there are practically no places to hide from such a piercing and strong wind.

Nature of Lake Baikal

The flora and fauna of the lake is diverse and unique. Oxygenated water allows a large number of living organisms to live here, more than 2600 species and subspecies of aquatic inhabitants live here, most of them are endemic. More than 58 species of fish live in the water column, such as omul, grayling, whitefish, taimen, Baikal sturgeon, lenok, golomyanka (a unique fish consisting of 30% fat).

The coast is covered with more than 2,000 species of plants, about 2,000 species of birds nest here, a unique marine mammal lives here - the Baikal seal, in the mountainous part of the Baikal region - the smallest deer in the world - the musk deer.

(Olkhon - the largest island of Lake Baikal)

The northeastern coast of the lake is part of the protected area of the Barguzinsky State Natural Biosphere Reserve, since 1996 Baikal has been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Settlements and cities

Large cities located a few dozen kilometers from the lake are Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude (130 km east of the lake) and Severobaikalsk (in the northern part of the lake coast). From Irkutsk (70 km from Baikal), the closest to the oldest Baikal settlement at the headwaters of the Angara - Listvyanka, it is over three hundred years old. The tourist infrastructure is well developed here and there is the Lake Museum dedicated to the history of Baikal, its flora and fauna. Also in the village there is a nerpinarium, where they show an exciting water show with the participation of Baikal seals and the legendary Shaman-stone, a reserved rock at the source of the Angara, ancient shamanic rites were held here in ancient times.

Climate and seasons

(Clear water of Lake Baikal in summer)

Eastern Siberia lies in a temperate sharply continental climatic zone, however, the huge masses of water contained in Lake Baikal have a special effect on the climate of the coast and due to this, unusual microclimate conditions are formed with warm mild winters and cool summers. The water masses of the lake act as a huge natural stabilizer and make winters warmer and summers cooler than, for example, in the same Irkutsk, located at a short distance from the lake (70 km). The air temperature in summer can reach up to +35°C.

(Transparent ice on Lake Baikal in winter)

In winter, the waters of Lake Baikal are bound by incredibly transparent and smooth ice. The temperature above the surface of the lake in the middle of winter is about -21°С, and on the coasts it is 5-10 degrees higher, on average -10°С - 17°С. Due to the slight evaporation of cold water from the surface of the lake, clouds are very rarely formed here, so the area of Lake Baikal is characterized by a high total duration of sunshine, cloudy and cloudy days are infrequent.

A story about Lake Baikal for children on the subject of the world will help prepare for the lesson.

Lake Baikal short message

Lake Baikal is the most mysterious and enigmatic. Tourists have admired its beauty for many years. 336 rivers and streams flow into the lake.

Depth of Lake Baikal an average of 730 m. The maximum depth of the lake is 1642 m. Even at a depth of 40 m, the bottom is perfectly visible.

Where is Lake Baikal located?

Baikal is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. The lake is located on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia, as well as the Irkutsk region.

How old is Baikal? It is difficult to give an exact number. Scientists traditionally determine the age of the lake at 25-35 million years.

Why is Baikal considered a unique natural phenomenon?

The main wealth of the lake is water, which makes up 90% of all fresh water reserves in Russia and 20% of global reserves. It is clean and transparent, and its oxygen saturation is 2 times higher than its content in ordinary reservoirs.
There are two reasons for this phenomenon:

The solubility of oxygen in water depends on its temperature. The lower the temperature, the more oxygen in the water. The water in Lake Baikal is very cold. At a depth of 100 m it is not more than 3-4 °C.
Algae also oxygenate the water.

Baikal water is also purified due to the activity of planktonic crustaceans. The crustaceans filter and absorb algae and bacteria cells. And clean water is returned to Baikal. Sponges, mollusks and worms contribute to water purification by eating various dying organisms.

Lake Baikal moderates the continental climate of these areas. Accumulating the heat received during the summer months, Baikal gives it back with the onset of winter cold.
Another inexplicable phenomenon is that the shores of the lake diverge at a rate of 1.5–2 cm per year.

Animals of Lake Baikal

More than 2600 species and subspecies of animals live in the lake, half of which live only in this reservoir. This lake is the only habitat for Baikal seals (seals).
The weight of Baikal seals can reach 130 kg and on land they become clumsy and defenseless.

In the waters of Baikal there are about 50 kinds of fish(omul, grayling, sturgeon, burbot).
Near Baikal live 200 bird species(ducks, herons, waders, representatives of the eagle family).

Problems of Baikal

In 1996, Baikal was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. But human activities and tourists cause enormous damage to the environment. As a result, the swamping of the once crystal clear Baikal reservoir has taken on rampant proportions.

Besides:

pollute water by dumping waste from enterprises;
The Irkutsk hydroelectric power station, built on the main source of Baikal - the Angara, causes the lake to become shallow;
poaching leads to a decrease in the number of Baikal seals and omul, imperial eagles;
Predatory deforestation combined with forest fires are destroying this protected area.

Lake Baikal message for grade 4 you can write using this information.

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 of the 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. The climatic conditions on Lake Baikal have their own unique features: either the sun is mercilessly hot, but cold winds blow, then fierce storms fly in, then calm and hot weather sets in in 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 to the locals 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 that 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 into separate 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, sunlight penetrates through it, due 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 mysterious phenomenon was discovered using 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 different velocities in individual zones. 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 forests of Siberian larch.

The terrain on the coast of Lake Baikal is generally mountainous and the transport infrastructure suffers greatly because of this. In many places, in order to travel by road from one settlement located on the coast to another located, you need to make a long detour of tens of kilometers. A quarter of the coast of Lake Baikal has no public roads at all and is practically uninhabited (there are places for the Chinese to settle, I think they are happy).

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

The flora and fauna here are unique. 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 got here in the distant times of the Ice Age, moving from the Arctic Ocean along the Angara and 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. The most popular places are the village of Listvyanka, the Small Sea and Olkhon Island. 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, go on bicycle and car tours, and go 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. The fantastic ice world of Baikal is fascinating. 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 a sacred place for the Buryats, access here for tourists was not always open.

There are also many other religious and historical places on Olkhon Island. 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 the spring, Baikal is also very beautiful, there are no more severe frosts and winds. Winter lovers find the combination of weather conditions and the beauty of landscapes 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.