Tour to Baikal region. Irkutsk tour.
TOURS TO THE CITIES OF RUSSIA
WELCOME TO BAIKAL REGION
ABOUT LAKE BAIKAL
Lake Baikal, lake located in the southern part of eastern Siberia within the
republic of Buryatia and Irkutsk oblast (province) of Russia. It is the oldest
existing freshwater lake on Earth (20 million–25 million years old), as well as
the deepest continental body of water, having a maximum depth of 5,315 feet
(1,620 metres). Its area is some 12,200 square miles (31,500 square km), with a
length of 395 miles (636 km) and an average width of 30 miles (48 km). It is
also the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume, containing about one-fifth
of the fresh water on Earth’s surface, some 5,500 cubic miles (23,000 cubic km).
Into Lake Baikal flow more than 330 rivers and streams, the largest of which
include the Selenga, Barguzin, Upper (Verkhnyaya) Angara, Chikoy, and Uda.
Baikal lies in a deep structural hollow surrounded by mountains, some of which
rise more than 6,600 feet (2,000 metres) above the lake’s surface. The
sedimentary strata on the floor of the lake may be as much as 20,000 feet (6,100
metres) thick. Breaks in Earth’s crust produce hot mineral springs in the area.
There are occasional severe earthquakes; in 1862 a quake inundated about 77
square miles (200 square km) in the northern Selenga delta, creating a new bay
in Baikal known as Proval Bay.
The lake hollow is not symmetrical, having steep slopes on the western shores
and gentler slopes on the eastern. The meandering shoreline runs for some 1,300
miles (2,100 km), with large indentations at the bays of Barguzin, Chivyrkuysky,
and Proval and at Ayaya and Frolikha inlets; the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula juts out
into the lake from the eastern shore. Baikal contains some 45 islets and
islands, the largest of which are Olkhon (about 270 square miles [700 square
km]) and Bolshoy (Great) Ushkany (3.6 square miles [9.4 square km]). The influx
of water into the lake is primarily from rivers, chiefly the Selenga. The only
outflow is through the Angara River, a tributary of the Yenisey.
Plant and animal life in the lake is rich and various. There are between
1,500 and 1,800 animal species at different depths, and hundreds of plant
species live on or near the surface. The majority of the species are endemic to
Baikal. There are some 50 species of fish, belonging to seven families; the most
numerous of these are the 25 species of gobies. The omul salmon is heavily
fished; also important are the grayling, lake whitefish, and sturgeon. Unique to
the lake is a fish called the golomyanka, of the family Comephoridae, which
gives birth to live young. The one mammal species is the Baikal seal, or nerpa (Phoca
sibirica). There are more than 320 bird species in the Baikal area.
Industries along the shores of Baikal include mining (mica and marble), the
manufacture of cellulose and paper, shipbuilding, fisheries, and timber. There
are many mineral springs, and visitors come to Goryachinsk for the curative
properties of the waters. A pulp and paper mill built on Lake Baikal’s southern
shore in 1966 drew strong environmental protests from Soviet scientists and
writers because its wastes were polluting the water, and in 1971 the Soviet
government adopted a decree to protect the lake from polluting emissions.
Further pollution controls were resisted, however, and industrial waste at the
site remained a concern in the late 1990s.
Location |
In southeastern Siberia, in the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region, Russia. See
map of Baikal area. |
Size |
636 km long + 80 km wide (average: 48 km), and has 2100 km of coastline
It covers 31,500 km². The surface area of all the tributaries that feed lake Baikal is about 560,000 km²
|
Volume |
It is the world’s greatest fresh water lake and
makes approximately 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water and over 80 per cent of fresh water in the former Soviet Union. It's
basin is made up of three underwater depressions, which together hold a
volume of 23,600 cubic km of water |
Age |
It is the oldest lake in the world, about 25-30 million years old, |
Depth |
It is the world’s deepest lake. The deepest point
in Lake Baikal is 1637m, the average depth being 630m, and it has an
exceptional clarity which allows 40-50 m of visibility. |
Climate |
A long lasting winter and a very intensive summer mark the climate of
this region. The Lake Baikal is at the beginning of January to the end
of April frozen over. In the summer months of at the end of June to in
the middle of Septembers prevails high-summer weather with temperatures
up to 35 degrees Celsius with very dry air |
Temperatures |
Baikal's water is cold. Overall, the average
temperature of the water is +4°C, but varies like many micro
climates depending on location and season. The surface temperature
in August in the middle of the lake is about 8 to 10°C and along
the coastal line, 14 to 16°C. Below the surface, the water
temperature plunges. In August, at a depth of 50 meters, the
temperature is about 5 to 6°C, even in summertime. In Kultuk Bay,
Chivyrkuysky Bay, Proval Bay, Peschanay Bay and the area called the
Small Sea, temperatures climb to between 16 and 18°C, and can reach
a balmy 20-24°C. The entire surface of the lake freezes over in the
winter. |
Best time for tourists |
At the end of June to in the middle of October is the
best season, in addition, the winter has his own attraction. Who would
like to celebrate Christmas time with cold weather and snow, a journey
was most warmly recommended to the Lake Baikal in the winter. There are
numerous offers for winter sportsmen of skiing, ice fishing and ice
swimming to ice skating. |
Rivers |
More then three hundred rivers and streams flowing
into Baikal , of which the six main ones are: Selenga, Chikoy, Khiloh,
Uda, Barguzin, and the Upper Angara. Only one, the Angara, flows out
from it. |
Islands |
There are a number of islands in the lake, the
largest of which is Olkhon, 72 km long and more than 130 km² in
area. |
Animals |
Lake Baikal is home to 1200 different species of
animals, and 1000 species of plants. 80% of the species at Baikal are
endemic.
There are 50 edible species of fish including salmon,
sturgeon, greyling and omul. While locals use it in many of their
favorite dishes, they also enjoy burbot, groundling, oil fish, and
bullhead. Pike and perch are easy to catch and very popular. In
addition, grayling and omul are highly recommended
The most unique animal at Baikal is the freshwater
seal Phoca siberica, known as the nerpa, which is also the only
mammal which inhabits the lake. Scientists believe that the seals are
from the tertiary fauna, migrated inland gradually in search for food,
and have been breeding at Baikal for 22 million years. There have been
years when scientists have counted nearly one hundred thousand nerpa in
and around the lake. Valued for their soft, warm pelts and fat, the
seals have been hunted for thousands of years. Archeologists have
discovered seal hunting weapons in the cave homes of early seal hunters. |
Particularity |
Baikal's water, long famous for its spiritual and
medicinal qualities, is called "living water." Unlike all
other deep lakes of the world where the lower depths are dead,
asphyxiated by hydrogen sulfide and other gases, Lake Baikal's deep
waters are blanketed in fresh oxygen. It has only been in the past five
years that scientists have discovered thermal springs beating up from
the bottom of Baikal. The release of hot, oxygenated water from
underwater vents mixed by two horizontal currents and by rising and
falling vertical currents may explain why the water is alive with
aquatic life. The small epishura zooplankton consume waterweeds,
bacteria and other material which would cloud the water. These and other
small crustaceans are largely responsible for the clarity of Baikal's
waters. |
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