Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake

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Lake Baikal is the world's oldest and deepest lake at 30 million years old and with an average depth of 744.4 metres. Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water.It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

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PHOTO BY Petr Jan Juračka, cbn Some rights reserved

Published: 2013-06-05 14:00:29 UTC

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Lake Baikal

The lake is completely surrounded by mountains. The Baikal Mountains on the north shore and the taiga are technically protected as a national park.

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The Pearl of Siberia

The lake, called "the Pearl of Siberia", drew investors from the tourist industry as energy revenues sparked an economic boom.

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Shipwreck

An old shipwreck at the coast of the Lake Baikal, Russia.

PHOTO BY Petr Jan Juračka, cbn Some rights reserved

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Vega Gull

The Vega Gull or East Siberian Gull, Larus vegae, is a large gull of the Herring Gull/Lesser Black-backed Gull complex which breeds in North-east Asia. Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world, and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

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Nizhneangarsk

Nizhneangarsk is an urban-type settlement and the administrative center of Severo-Baykalsky District of the Buryat Republic, Russia, located at the northern tip of Lake Baikal, 23 kilometres (14 mi) north of Severobaykalsk.

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Severobaykalsk

Severobaykalsk is a town in Buryatia, Russia. Severobaykalsk is located on a plateau at the northern end of Lake Baikal at the mouth of the Tyya River. To the west the town is surrounded by the Baikal Mountains, to the northeast by the Stanovoy Range. Severobaykalsk is geographically isolated, the closest town is Ust-Kut, more than 260 km (160 mi) away.

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Beach at Lake Baikal

The area is distinctive for sunshine longevity which is record-high for the of whole Russia. The water in summer is cold, normally +8..+9C and can reach +15C in bays. It's so pellucid that one can see the bottom 40m down.

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Dusk

Lake Baikal was known as the "North Sea" in historical Chinese texts. It was situated in the then Xiongnu territory. Little was known to Europeans about the lake until Russia expanded into the area in the 17th century. The first Russian explorer to reach Lake Baikal was Kurbat Ivanov in 1643.

TEXT FROM WIKIPEDIA, cba SOME RIGHTS RESERVED. PHOTO BY Petr Jan Juračka, cbn Some rights reserved