Baikal has an elongated crescent shape. His extreme points lie between 51°29" (st. Murino) and 55°46" (mouth of the Kichera River) north latitude and between 103°44" (st. Kultuk) and 109°51" (Dagar Bay) east longitude.

The shortest line passing through the area of ​​the lake and connecting the most remote points of its shores, i.e. the length of the lake, equal to 636 km, the largest width of Baikal, equal to 79.4 km, is located between Ust-Barguzin and Onguren; the smallest, different 25 km, is located opposite the delta of the river. Selengi.

The area from which rivers currently collect water and bring it into Baikal, or its so-called catchment area, is 557,000 square meters. km *) . It is distributed in relation to the area of ​​the lake itself very unevenly (see the map of the basin). Along the entire western shore, the border of this area runs just a few kilometers from the lake shore. It is limited almost everywhere by the watershed of the mountains visible from the lake.

*) According to Yu.M. Shokalsky, the basin of Lake Baikal reaches 582,570 sq. km. - Approx. ed.

The basin of the Lena River approaches this watershed along the entire length of northern Baikal, and the Lena itself originates 7 km from the shore of Lake Baikal near Cape Pokoiniki. The catchment area of ​​Baikal to the south and southwest of the lake towards the Selenga River basin is most widespread. The basin of this river, equal to 464,940 sq. km, is 83.4% of the total catchment area of ​​Lake Baikal. The next largest basin is the Barguzin River, whose basin is 20,025 sq. km and is 3.5% of the total catchment area of ​​Lake Baikal. The share of all other tributaries of Baikal accounts for a catchment area of ​​72,035 sq. km, equal to 13.1% of the total catchment area of ​​the lake.

Lake Baikal itself is located in a narrow basin, bordered by mountain ranges, spurs of the Sayan, cut in a number of places by relatively narrow valleys, along which its tributaries flow into the lake.

In the south, along its eastern shores, almost all year round snow-covered peaks of the Khamar-Daban ridge with the highest altitudes up to 2000 m above sea level. This is exactly the chain of mountains that is visible to anyone traveling along the shores of Lake Baikal by rail. These mountains are especially clearly visible on the stretch between st. Baikal and st. Kultuk. The Pribaikalsky Range adjoins the western shores of southern Baikal. Its height almost along its entire length from Kultuk to the Small Sea does not exceed 1300-1200 m above sea level, but these mountains stand on the very shore of Lake Baikal.

Starting from the Small Sea and to the northernmost tip western coasts Lake Baikal stretches the Baikal mountain range, gradually rising to the north from Cape Rytoy to Cape Kotelnikovsky. In this area, Mount Karpinsky reaches its highest height of 2176 m, Mount Sinya - 2168 m, etc. Almost the entire length of the peaks of the Baikal Range is covered with snow that does not melt even in the middle of summer, and in many places traces of glaciers that descended from them until recently are visible.

This ridge is crossed by a series of deeply incised valleys along which mountain streams stretch. In terms of their picturesqueness, the eastern shores of the northern part of the lake are one of the most remarkable places on Baikal. To the eastern shores, starting from the Chivyrkuisky Bay and to the northernmost tip of the lake, another ridge approaches - the Barguzinsky, reaching a considerable height - up to 2700 m. This ridge, however, is located at some distance from the shores, and relatively low foothills adjoin directly to the latter, in some places forming picturesque cliffs, and on the predominant part of the coast, gently descending to the waters of the lake.

Gap east coast The lake between the Selenga and the Barguzin Bay is bordered by the Ulan-Burgasy ridge, which has a height of 1400-1500 m near Baikal.

The most pronounced bend coastline Lake Baikal is the Holy Nose peninsula, located between the two largest bays on Baikal - Barguzinsky and Chivyrkuisky.

This peninsula in the form of a massive block of stone, reaching a height of 1684 m, rises above Baikal, falling to the water with steep rocky cliffs. However, towards the mainland, it falls more gently and then passes into a narrow and swampy isthmus, merging with a vast lowland adjacent to the river valley. Barguzin. There is no doubt that until recently the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula was an island, and the waters of the Chivyrkuisky and Barguzinsky bays formed one vast strait, subsequently filled with drifts from the river. Barguzin.

Baikal has 19 permanent islands, the largest of them is Olkhon. It has a length of 71.7 km and an area of ​​729.4 sq. km. Olkhon Island, - separated from the continent by a strait less than a kilometer wide, called "Olkhon Gates", elongated in a northeasterly direction, is a mountain range, with the highest point - Mount Izhimey, reaching a height of 1300 m and abruptly breaking off to the east shore. The northern part of the island is wooded, while the southern part is completely devoid of tree vegetation and is covered with meadows with traces of steppe vegetation that was once, apparently, widespread here.

The shores of Olkhon facing the Small Sea are subjected to very strong destruction by the surf. Interesting both in its position and in its picturesqueness is the group of the Ushkany Islands, located opposite the Svyatoy Nos peninsula in the middle part of the lake. This group consists of four islands, of which Big Ushkany Island has an area of ​​9.41 sq. km, and the remaining three islands (Thin, Round and Long) do not exceed half a square kilometer. The large Ushkany Island reaches a height of 150 m, while the small ones are only a few meters above the average water level of Lake Baikal. All of them are rocky, with banks composed mainly of limestone and covered with dense forest. These islands are greatly destroyed and, as it were, cut off by the surf.

The time is not far off when the small Ushkany Islands will disappear under the surface of the waters of Lake Baikal.

The remaining islands on Baikal are all located near its shores, four of them are in the Chivyrkuisky Bay (Bol. and Small. Kyltygey, Elena and Baklany), six in the Small Sea (Khubyn, Zamugoy, Toinik, Ugungoy, Kharansa, Izokhoy, etc.) and the rest - in close proximity to the shores of other parts of Baikal, such as Listvenichny, Boguchansky, Baklany (near Peschanaya Bay), etc.

All islands have a total area of ​​742.22 sq. km, and most of them are large capes, separated from the continent under the influence of the destructive force of the surf. In addition, there are also several low sandy islands on Baikal, which in high water are completely hidden under water and protrude above the surface only when the water is low. Such are the islands elongated in the form of narrow strips that separate Proval Bay from Baikal (Chayachi Islands, Sakhalin), such are the islands that separate Angara Sor from open Baikal - the so-called Yarki. The islands separating the Istoksky Sor from the open Baikal belong to the same type.

The bays and inlets, which are so important for the anchorage of small vessels, are a relatively rare phenomenon on Baikal, moreover, they are very unevenly distributed along the coast.

The largest bays, Chivyrkuisky and Barguzinsky, which we have already mentioned above, are formed by the Svyatoy Nos peninsula protruding from the lake. Almost a bay is the so-called Small Sea, separated from open Baikal by Olkhon Island and Proval Bay, to the north of the Selenga delta.

Peschanaya and Babushka bays on the western shore of southern Baikal are famous for their picturesqueness. Further, a peculiar group of bays, or rather lagoons, bearing the name “sors” on Baikal, are separated from open lake narrow sandy spits of its former bays. Such are the Posolsky and Istoksky sors, separated from Baikal by narrow strips of land washed by the action of the surf, such is the Angarsky sor in the very north and Rangatui in the depths of the Chivyrkuisky Bay. All of them are separated from Baikal by narrow strips of sediment, in the form of sandy spits, sometimes hiding under the surface of the lake into high water.

Except for these large bays, almost separated from Baikal by its sediments, all other bends of its coast depend to a large extent on the direction of the Baikal coastline, since the sinuosity of its coast depends on whether the coast is directed along or across the dominant direction of the mountain ranges. that make up the coast.

Those sections of the Baikal coast that are directed across the main direction of the mountain ranges that limit its basin are characterized by significant indentation, such as, for example, the Olkhon Gates or South coast Barguzinsky Bay. Those sections of the coast, which in their direction coincide with the direction of the mountain ranges that limit the Baikal basin in this area, are characterized, on the contrary, by exceptional straightness, disturbed only by secondary accumulations of coastal sediments or the eroding effect of the surf. This is the entire section of the western shore of Lake Baikal from the mouth of the river. Sarma to Cape Kotelnikovsky, such is the area that limits the Svyatoy Nos peninsula from the west, and many others.

In many areas, the shore of Lake Baikal is completely straight for many kilometers, and almost sheer cliffs, many meters high, break into the water very often. Particularly characteristic in this regard is the section between Sosnovka and the entrance to the Chivyrkuisky Bay on the eastern shore of middle Baikal or the section from Onguren to Cape Kocherikovsky on the western shore of middle Baikal.

According to the distribution of depths or the topography of the bottom, Baikal can be divided into three main deep depressions. The first of them - southern, occupies the entire southern Baikal to the confluence of the river. Selenga. The greatest depth of this depression is 1473 m, while the average depth is 810 m. The depression of southern Baikal is characterized by an exceptionally steep bottom slope near the western and southwestern shores and a relatively gentle slope near the opposite slopes.

Lacustrine deposits at the bottom of the southern depression have not completely smoothed out the features of the original relief, at the bottom of which there are a number of hollows and irregularities adjoining the Trans-Baikal coast and elongated in a northeasterly direction. These underwater ridges are especially pronounced in the part of the depression adjacent to the delta of the river. Selenga, and hide under its deposits. One of these ridges stands out so much that it forms in the middle of the width of Baikal on the line between the village. Goloustny and s. Posolsky shallow water, where depths of 94 m have been discovered, and the depths in this shallow water have not yet been sufficiently explored and it cannot be vouched for that even smaller depths will not be found there. This shallow water is, in all likelihood, a remnant of Stolbovoy Island, marked here on ancient maps, partly destroyed by the waters of Lake Baikal, partly submerged under its surface.

On the bridge separating the southern deep basin of Baikal from its middle basin, the depth does not exceed 428 m, and this bridge basically reflects the structure of the bedrock. This view is supported by the presence of a longitudinal ridge, elongated in front of the Selenga delta, extending far both in the southwestern and northeastern directions and is known from local residents called "manes". In its part adjacent to the Selenga, this lintel is gradually and significantly modified by the offsets of the Selenga.

To the east of the ridge directed to the northeast, approximately opposite the channel of the Selenga delta, called Kolpinnaya, there is a deepening of the bottom, reaching 400 m and locally called the "deep". A legend is connected with this abyss that in this place in the bottom of Baikal there is a hole through which Baikal connects either with Lake Kosogol or with the North Polar Sea. The emergence of this legend was facilitated by the fact that there is a local whirlpool in the region of the depression, which is well observed in quiet days, when all objects floating on the surface receive rotational motion. This whirlpool, which gives the impression that water is drawn into the hole below, is caused by the meeting of currents in two directions, which mix the surface layers of water to a depth of about 25 m.

The middle deep basin of Baikal occupies the entire space between the barrier against the Selenga and the line connecting the northern tip of Olkhon Island through the Ushkany Islands with Cape Valukan on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. In this depression are the greatest depths of Baikal, reaching 1741 m. This depth is located at a distance of 10 km from Cape Ukhan on Olkhon. The average depth of the basin reaches 803 m. The area occupied by depths over 1500 m, which are not found in the other two deep basins of Baikal, is 2098 sq. km. km. The bottom has a particularly steep drop near the eastern shores of Olkhon Island, as well as to the east of the Ushkany Islands, where in some areas of the bottom the slope angle reaches over 80 °.

The bottom sections adjacent to the eastern coast of the depression are more gentle, and depths of 100 m in some places are here several kilometers from the coast.

The Barguzinsky Bay, which is part of the middle basin, has a very complex bottom topography. It is divided into two depressions by an underwater ridge. In the part of the bay adjacent to the southern head of the Svyatoi Nos peninsula, depths of more than 1300 m enter, which go far into its northern part. The relief of the bottom of the entire eastern part of the bay is influenced by the drifts of the river. Barguzin, which covered the bedrock topography with a thick layer of sediments.

The depression of middle Baikal is separated from the northern depression by an underwater ridge, discovered by the station in 1932 and named Akademichesky.

This ridge, on which the depths do not exceed 400 m, stretches from the northern tip of Olkhon Island to the Ushkany Islands and further, less pronounced, to the north to Cape Valukan. Thus, the Ushkany Islands themselves are only the northern part of the Academic Ridge protruding above the surface. This ridge has slopes that descend very steeply to the southeast towards the depression of middle Baikal, and gently to the northwest towards northern basin, i.e. retains the same features as the profiles of Olkhon Island and Bolshoi Ushkany Island.

The northern deep basin of Baikal occupies the entire space located north of the Akademichesky Range and includes the Small Sea. This depression has the greatest depth of only 988 m, its average depth is 564 m. south end Small Sea to the Kotelnikovsky Cape area. In the northern depression near the western shores, the bottom slopes more steeply into the depths than near the eastern shores, where there are significant shallow waters.

Most of the surface of the bottom of Lake Baikal at depths of more than 100 m is covered with thick deposits of silt, which mainly consists of countless shells, dead and fallen to the bottom of algae that lived in the upper layers of water. Only in a few places, like the Akademichesky Ridge, does the bottom of Baikal consist of bedrock, there are also areas of the bottom where rounded boulders and pebbles can be found at great depths, obviously, these are flooded channels of ancient rivers that are not covered with silt deposits due to the bottom currents there.

As for the shallow depths of Baikal, many consist of vast areas, especially those adjacent to river deltas, of sand or sand mixed with silt. Even closer to the coast, the bottom is covered mainly with stones and more or less large pebbles. Only in a few areas the bottom to the very shores is composed of sand. Such areas are of great importance, as they are convenient for seine fishing.

Not always, however, Baikal had those characteristic features of the bottom topography and the shape of its outlines that it currently possesses. There is reason to assert the opposite, namely, that Baikal in its present form was formed, from a geological point of view, relatively recently - at the end of the Tertiary or even at the beginning of the so-called Quaternary time. By this time, according to modern views of geologists, the formation of great depths of Baikal, as well as the formation of those mountain ranges that border the lake, belongs. There is little information about what the reservoir that was on the site of Baikal before that time was.

Apparently, it was a complex system of lakes, interconnected by straits and occupying a larger area than modern Baikal. There is reason to believe that this multi-lake area extended to Transbaikalia, Mongolia, and possibly Manchuria and Northern China.

Thus, Baikal in its current state is, to a certain extent, a remnant of water bodies that once occupied a vast area and repeatedly underwent significant changes. How could this affect the composition of the animal and flora Baikal, we will consider below, in the corresponding chapter.

During the ice age, when powerful glaciers covered large areas in some regions of Siberia, there was no continuous glaciation in the Baikal region, and glaciers descended to the shores of Baikal only in some places. Heaps of stones and sand, brought by glaciers and called moraines, in northern Baikal in many places descend from the adjacent mountains to Baikal itself, but it can be argued that this ice has never completely covered the surface of Baikal.

The moraines left after the ice age had a significant impact on the formation of the shores of Northern Baikal. Some capes in the north of Baikal are made of moraine materials, such as, for example, Cape Bolsodei. On the eastern shore of Northern Baikal, where many capes are also made of moraine material, they were subjected to severe destruction by the surf. Smaller boulders and loose material were washed away by the waves, and large boulders, preserved in the area as dangerous pitfalls for navigation, are the remains of moraines that were in these places and indicate their much greater distribution in the past than is the case now.

Geologists have made different assumptions about how the Baikal basin with its vast depths was formed in its modern form.

During the eighteenth and first half of the nineteenth centuries, geologists believed that Baikal was a deep sinkhole in the earth's crust, resulting from a major catastrophe that took place in this area of ​​​​the mainland. I.D. Chersky significantly changed these ideas. He considered Baikal not a failure, but a very ancient reservoir, preserved from the time of the Silurian Sea and gradually deepened due to the slow and smooth bowing of the earth's crust.

Later acad. V.A. Obruchev returned to the old ideas about the failure and explains the formation of the modern depths of Baikal by subsidence of the bottom of the graben, which this lake is. This subsidence occurred simultaneously with the uplift, which formed a mountainous country on the coast of Lake Baikal, and apparently continues to this day.

There are other geologists who also associate the formation of Baikal with the arched uplift of the Baikal region and subsidence - the collapse of the central part of this arch, but the time of this uplift, in their opinion, refers to the second half of the Quaternary period, i.e. to the time of the existence of primitive man.

Finally, according to the latest views of E.V. Pavlovsky, the Baikal depressions and the ridges separating them are the so-called synclines and anticlines, complicated by faults and developed gradually over many geological epochs, against the background of a general arched uplift of the Stanovoi ridge.

Finally, according to the views of N.V. Dumitrashko, Baikal is a complex system of three basins. The southern one arose during the Upper Jurassic, the middle one - in the Tertiary time, the northern one - at the border of the Tertiary and Quaternary time. The hollows and the ridges surrounding them are blocks into which the Baikal region was divided during the last epochs of mountain building. The slumped boulders turned into depressions, the rising ones turned into ridges. We have a range of evidence that the formation Baikal basin continues to this day, and that the bottom of the basin at the same time continues to sink, and its edges in the form of limiting, Baikal depressions of mountain ranges rise.

Signs of the lowering of the coast, villages. Ust-Barguzin in 1932. Photo by G.Yu. Vereshchagin

The subsidence of the shores of Baikal is especially pronounced in places where the basin continues beyond its shores, such as, for example, to the west of the area between Kultuk and Slyudyanka, in the Barguzin Bay, in the area between the Kichera and Upper Angara rivers, as well as on the far protruding basins of Baikal, the delta of the river. Selenga. In all these places, not only are there features of the coastline, which indicate the gradual sinking of the coast under the lake level, but there are also those confirming this. historical facts. So the village of Ust-Barguzin has already changed its place twice, moving away from the shore of Lake Baikal, as the waters of the lake flood the place of its former location. This village is in a semi-flooded state at the present time. A similar phenomenon is observed in the village located at the mouth of the river. Kichery (Nizhnangarsk), where once was the center of the entire district, and now only a small number of houses remain. In the Selenga delta, the lowering of the terrain is expressed in the gradual swamping of the delta's meadows and the transformation into a swamp of once-dry mowings and even fields.

But the most significant is the lowering of part of the coast in the area of ​​the river. Selenga in December 1861, which led to the formation of Proval Bay. Then the northern part of the river delta disappeared under the waters of Lake Baikal. Selenga, the so-called Tsagan steppe with all the Buryat uluses, hayfields and other lands, with a total area of ​​​​about 190 square meters. km. This was preceded by an earthquake, while a strong vertical impact was felt, from which the soil on the steppe swelled with mounds and sand, clay and water were thrown out of the wide cracks formed. The steppe was flooded with water, which spouted fountains, more than two meters high. And the next day, the water of Baikal flooded the entire descended space to the Bortogoi steppe. According to eyewitnesses, the water came from the lake like a wall. In place of the steppe, Proval Bay is currently spreading with depths of up to three meters.

The secondary redistribution of sediments along the shores leads to a number of changes in the nature of the Baikal coastline, of which we will only point out the most important ones. Thus, the accumulation of these sediments in bays and other bends of the coast leads to their gradual straightening and the formation of shallow, gently descending to the water's edge coasts, composed of sand or small pebbles, which are usually good non-aqueous tones.

The movement of sediment along the coast leads to other phenomena: for example, islands located near the coast are gradually attached to the coast by forming a bridge made of sediment connecting them to the coast. The largest of these bridges on Baikal connects, as already noted, the former rocky island of Svyatoy Nos with the continent, turning it into a peninsula. Typical dams made of sediments are observed on some capes of the Small Sea, such as Kurminsky, which was also once an island and only secondarily, by sediments, is attached to the coast. In the same way, some capes in the Chivyrkuisky Bay are attached to the coast, for example, Cape Monakhov, Cape Katun, etc.

The advancing coastal shaft near the mouth of the river. Yaksakan (east coast of northern Baikal). Photo by L.N. Tyulina

The movement of sediments along the coast also leads to the lacing of its bays from the lake. It is this process that caused the formation of its so-called sors on Baikal. Once it was just the bends of the coast - bays. Away from these bays along the coast, under the influence of the prevailing direction of the surf, the movement of sediments, which, having reached the bay, was deposited on its bottom in a direction that is a continuation of the general direction of the coast in this area. Thus, narrow, striped sandy islands arose, with which the sors are gradually separated from Baikal. In some cases, such bridges have already led to the almost complete separation of bays from the lake, such as, for example, Posolsky sor. In other cases, this process is not completed, such as, for example, the Istoksky sor, or it is just beginning, which takes place in Proval Bay.

In the cases prevailing on Lake Baikal, coastal sediments are weakly accumulated near its shores, and as a result, the shores themselves are exposed to the destructive action of the surf. Some parts of the coast are literally gnawed away by the surf. Up to a height of 5 meters or more, the rocks are destroyed, representing cliffs with an uneven, porous surface, and in many places niches and caves are carved into the rocks by the surf.

The destruction is especially strong on the shore of the island facing the Small Sea. Olkhon and, in particular, on the capes of this coast, as well as on the capes of the Olkhon Gate Strait.

The surf can also lead to the complete destruction of the islands, as if cutting them near the water's edge. It is in this state, very close to complete destruction, that the Small Ushkany Islands are located, of which the long island is currently only a few meters wide.

Completely cut off by the surf of Lake Baikal, apparently, is the island of Stolbovoy, which was once in the middle of Lake Baikal between Goloustnoye and Posolsky and marked on old maps, and now its trace has been preserved only in the form of a shoal in this place.

The surf leads to the separation of capes from the continent and their transformation into islands. This is observed in the Small Sea, where the islands of Kharansa and Edor arose in this way.

Enormous waves, causing a strong surf, as well as the roughness of the lake, in which this excitement is repeated very often, cause an exceptionally strong influence of the surf on the shores and leads both to their destruction and to the movement of sediments and the formation of shore sections washed by the lake. Baikal is a classic place for studying the work of the lake on its shores, which is far from being appreciated in this regard to the proper degree.

Olkhon Island on Lake Baikal (Jason Rogers / flickr.com) Olkhon Island, Baikal (Jason Rogers / flickr.com) Olkhon Island (Jason Rogers / flickr.com) Jason Rogers / flickr.com Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Martin Lopatka / flickr .com Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com Lake Baikal (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com) Sergey Gabdurakhmanov / flickr.com Khoboy Cape, Olkhon (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com) Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com White Sturgeon (Heaven Ice Day / flickr.com) Heaven Ice Day / flickr.com LA638 / flickr.com

There are many places on earth that amaze with their beauty and uniqueness. Lake Baikal is one of them. This richest reservoir embodied all ideas about primevalness. It can be calm when there is calm on its surface, or it can be ferocious and cruel when a storm breaks out.

Asking the question of what attracts the attention of Baikal, it is quite simple to answer it. Peculiarities geographical characteristics giant reservoir attract tourists thousands of kilometers away.

Lake Baikal (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com)

The greatest depth of Baikal is impressive. The maximum depth of the lake is from the surface of the water at a distance of 1642 meters.

This indicator brings Baikal to a leading position among the lakes on the planet. Following after Russian Baikal African Tanganyika is in a significant margin. The difference between the maximum depths of these majestic reservoirs is about 160 meters.

The average depth over the entire area of ​​the lake also deserves attention. Most of Baikal has a depth of about 730 meters. As for the area of ​​this reservoir, here, for understanding, we can cite the area of ​​Belgium or Denmark as an example. Equating the size of the lake to the territory of one of these countries, one can only imagine its boundless expanses.

Olkhon Island (Jason Rogers / flickr.com)

The reason for the incredible depth and length of Lake Baikal is the countless number of rivers and streams flowing into it. There are more than 300 of them: large and small streams and full-flowing powerful river flows. Despite the fact that only the Angara takes its source from the lake.

It should be noted that Lake Baikal is considered the world's largest natural reservoir of pure fresh water. Its volumes exceed even the famous American Great Lakes. If you add up the volumes of Michigan, Erie, Huron, Ontario and Upper Lake, then their sum will still not reach equality with the capacity of Baikal, which is over 23,600 cubic kilometers.

The huge depth, impressive expanses of the reservoir, the length and width of the mirror surface caused the inhabitants to often call Baikal the sea. Located in the southeast of Eurasia, a powerful lake is famous for its storms and tides (similar to sea ones).

Why is the lake called Baikal?

The history of the name of the lake is associated with several legends known to the local people. According to the first version, in translation from Turkic it means "rich lake", and in the original language it sounds like Bai-Kul.

Khoboy Cape, Olkhon (Konstantin Malanchev / flickr.com)

The second variant of the origin of the name, according to historians, is associated with the Mongols - in their language, the reservoir was called Baigal (rich fire) or Baigal dalai (big sea). There is also a third version of the name, according to which the neighboring Chinese called the lake " north sea". In Chinese, it sounds like Bei-Hai.

Lake Baikal is one of the oldest water bodies on the earth's surface. This orographic unit went through a rather complex and long process of formation in the earth's crust.

More than 25 million years ago, the reservoir began its formation, which continues to this day. Recent geological studies prove that Baikal can rightly be considered the beginning of another ocean, which, of course, will not appear in the near future, but scientists look almost unequivocally that it will happen.

The shores of the lake are expanding significantly every year, the body of water is growing before our eyes, so in the place of the lake in a few million years, according to researchers, there will be an ocean.

Lake research

unique hallmark Baikal waters is their amazing transparency. At a depth of up to forty meters, you can easily see every pebble at the bottom.

Olkhon Island, Baikal (Jason Rogers / flickr.com)

This is explained by simple chemical laws. The fact is that almost all rivers flowing into Baikal pass through crystals of sparingly soluble rocks.

Hence the low level of Baikal mineralization. It is about 100 milligrams per liter of lake water.

Due to the maximum depth of Baikal and the high coastline, exceeding the surface of the ocean by 450 meters, the bottom of the reservoir is rightfully considered the most deep depression not only on this continent, but also among other continents.

Due to the fact that scientists found out the exact location of the maximum depth of the lake, a dive was made to this point several years ago.

It is located within the island of Olkhon. A modern deep-sea instrument sank to the bottom for more than 1 hour. For some time, scientists have filmed and taken samples for a detailed study of the bottom composition of the water and the rocks present.

During this experiment, the researchers managed to discover new microorganisms and identify the source of Baikal pollution with oil.

Lake Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the most deep lake on the planet, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water. The lake and coastal areas are distinguished by a unique diversity of flora and fauna, most of the species are endemic. Locals and many in Russia traditionally call Baikal the sea. Climate

Origin of the lake The origin of Baikal still causes scientific controversy. Scientists traditionally determine the age of the lake at 25-35 million years. This fact also makes Baikal unique. natural object, since most lakes, especially of glacial origin, live on average 10-15 thousand years, and then they are filled with silty sediments and become swampy. However, there is also a version about the youth of Lake Baikal, put forward by Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences A. V. Tatarinov in 2009, which received indirect confirmation during the second stage of the expedition "Worlds" to Baikal. In particular, the activity of mud volcanoes at the bottom of Lake Baikal allows scientists to assume that the modern coastline of the lake is only 8 thousand years old, and the deep-water part is 150 thousand years old. What is certain is that the lake is located in a rift basin and is similar in structure, for example, to the Dead Sea basin. Some researchers explain the formation of Baikal by its location in the zone of a transform fault, others suggest the presence of a mantle plume under Baikal, and others explain the formation of the basin by passive rifting as a result of the collision of the Eurasian plate and Hindustan. Be that as it may, the transformation of Baikal continues to this day - earthquakes constantly occur in the vicinity of the lake. There are suggestions that the subsidence of the basin is associated with the formation of vacuum chambers due to the outpouring of basalts on the surface (Quaternary period).

seismic activity The Baikal region (the so-called Baikal rift zone) belongs to areas with high seismicity: earthquakes regularly occur here, the strength of most of which is one or two points on the MSK-64 intensity scale. However, there are also strong ones; so, in 1862, during the ten-point Kudarinsky earthquake in the northern part of the Selenga delta, a land area of ​​​​200 km 2 with 6 uluses, in which 1300 people lived, went under water, and Proval Bay was formed. Strong earthquakes were also recorded in 1903 (Baikal), 1950 (Mondinskoe), 1957 (Muiskoe), 1959 (Middle Baikal). The epicenter of the Middle Baikal earthquake was located at the bottom of Lake Baikal near the village of Sukhaya (southeast coast). His strength reached 9 points. In Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk, the strength of the main shock reached 5-6 points, cracks and minor damage were observed in buildings and structures. The last strong earthquakes on Baikal occurred in August 2008 (9 points) and in February 2010 (6.1 points).

Geographical location and dimensions of the basin Baikal is located in the center of the Asian continent on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia in Russian Federation. The lake stretches from northeast to southwest for 620 km in the form of a giant crescent. The width of Lake Baikal ranges from 24 to 79 km. The bottom of Baikal is 1167 meters below the level of the World Ocean, and the mirror of its waters is 453 meters higher. The water surface area of ​​Lake Baikal is 31,722 km2 (excluding islands), which is approximately equal to the area of ​​such countries as Belgium, the Netherlands or Denmark. In terms of the area of ​​the water surface, Baikal ranks sixth among the largest lakes in the world. The length of the coastline is 2100 km. The lake is located in a kind of basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. Wherein West Coast- rocky and steep, relief east coast- more gentle (in some places the mountains recede from the coast for tens of kilometers).

Depths Baikal is the deepest lake on Earth. The current value of the maximum depth of the lake - 1642 m - was established in 1983 by L. G. Kolotilo and A. I. Sulimov during the hydrographic work of the expedition of the GUNiO MO USSR at a point with coordinates 53 ° 14’59 "s. sh. 108°05'11" E d. (G) (O). The maximum depth was mapped in 1992 and confirmed in 2002 as a result of a joint Belgian-Spanish-Russian project to create a new bathymetric map of Baikal, when the depths were digitized at 1,312,788 points of the lake water area (the depth values ​​were obtained as a result of recalculation acoustic sounding data combined with additional bathymetric information, including echolocation and seismic profiling; one of the authors of the maximum depth discovery, L. G. Kolotilo, was a participant in this project). If we take into account that the water surface of the lake is located at an altitude of 455.5 m above sea level, then the lower point of the basin lies 1186.5 m below the level of the world ocean, which makes the Baikal bowl also one of the deepest continental depressions. The average depth of the lake is also very high - 744.4 m. It exceeds the maximum depths of many very deep lakes. In addition to Baikal, only two lakes on Earth have a depth of more than 1000 meters: Tanganyika (1470 m) and the Caspian Sea (1025 m). (According to some reports, the subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica has a depth of more than 1200 m, but it must be borne in mind that this subglacial “lake” is not a lake in the sense that we are used to, since there are four kilometers of ice above the water and it is a kind of closed container , where the water is under enormous pressure, and the "surface" or "level" of water in different parts of this "lake" differs by more than 400 meters. Thus, the concept of "depth" for the subglacial Lake Vostok is fundamentally different from the depth of "ordinary" lakes ).

Water properties The main properties of Baikal water can be briefly described as follows: it contains very few dissolved and suspended mineral substances, negligibly few organic impurities, and a lot of oxygen. The water in Baikal is cold. The temperature of the surface layers even in summer does not exceed +8…+9 °C, in some bays - +15 °C. The temperature of the deep layers is about +4 °C. The maximum recorded temperature in some bays is +23 °C. The water in the lake is so transparent that individual stones and various items are visible at a depth of 40 m. At this time, the Baikal water is blue. In summer and autumn, when a lot of plant and animal organisms develop in the water warmed by the sun, its transparency decreases to 8-10 m, and the color becomes blue-green and green. The purest and most transparent water of Lake Baikal contains so few mineral salts (96.7 mg/l) that it can be used instead of distilled water.

Bottom relief The bottom of Lake Baikal has a pronounced relief. Along the entire coast of Baikal, coastal shallow waters (shelves) and underwater slopes are more or less developed; the bed of the three main basins of the lake is expressed; there are underwater banks and even underwater ridges. The Baikal basin is divided into three basins: Southern, Middle and Northern, separated from each other by two ridges - Akademichesky and Selenginsky. The most expressive is the Academic Ridge, which stretches from Olkhon Island to the Ushkany Islands, which are its highest part. Its length is about 100 km, the maximum height above the bottom of Baikal is 1848 m. highest mountains on Earth, with a height of more than 7000 m.

Climatic features The water mass of Lake Baikal influences the climate of the coastal area. Winters are milder here, and summers are cooler. The onset of spring on Baikal is delayed by 10-15 days compared to the surrounding areas, and autumn is often quite long. The Baikal region is distinguished by a large total duration of sunshine. For example, in the village of Bolshoe Goloustnoye it reaches 2524 hours, which is more than Black Sea resorts, and is a record for Russia. There are only 37 days without sun per year in the same settlement, and 48 on Olkhon Island. The special features of the climate are due to the Baikal winds, which have their own names - barguzin, sarma, verkhovik, kultuk.

vegetable and animal world According to the Limnological Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2630 species and varieties of plants and animals live in Baikal, 2/3 of which are endemic, that is, they live only in this reservoir. These include about 1000 endemic species, 96 genera, 11 endemic families and subfamilies. 27 species of Baikal fish are found nowhere else. Such an abundance of living organisms is explained by the high oxygen content in the entire thickness of Baikal water. The epishura crustacean, endemic to Baikal, makes up to 80% of the zooplankton biomass of the lake and is the most important link in the food chain of the reservoir. It performs the function of a filter: it passes water through itself, purifying it. Baikal oligochaetes, 84.5% of which are endemic, make up to 70-90% of the zoobenthos biomass and play an important role in the self-purification processes of the lake and as a food base for benthophagous fish and predatory invertebrates. They are involved in soil aeration and mineralization of organic matter.

The most interesting in Baikal is the viviparous golomyanka fish, whose body contains up to 30% fat. It surprises biologists with daily feeding migrations from the depths to shallow waters. Of the fish in Baikal, there are Baikal omul, grayling, whitefish, Baikal sturgeon (Acipenser baeri baicalensis), burbot, taimen, pike and others. Baikal is unique among lakes in that freshwater sponges grow here at great depths.

The shores of Lake Baikal diverge annually by 2 centimeters

Lake Features

The lake is located in a seismological zone; several hundred earthquakes a year occur in its vicinity. For the most part, the intensity is 1-2 points on the MSK-64 scale. The predominant part of tremors can be determined only by highly sensitive equipment. The transformation of Baikal continues to this day.

Baikal winds give pronounced features to the local climate. They often blow up a storm on the lake and have memorable names: barguzin, sarma, verkhovik and kultuk. The water mass affects the atmosphere of the coastal area. Spring here comes 10-15 days later than in neighboring areas. Autumn drags on for a long time. Summers tend to be cool, and winters are not very frosty.

Two large lakes and many streams create the main stream that flows into Baikal. The Selenga River, which flows from Mongolia, provides most of the inflow from the southeast side. The second large tributary is from the eastern bank, from the Barguzin River. The Angara is the only river flowing from Lake Baikal.

The purest waters of Lake Baikal make up 19% of the world's fresh water reserves

The water contains a minimum amount of mineral salts and is abundantly saturated with oxygen to the very bottom. In winter and spring, it is blue and becomes the most transparent. In summer and autumn, it acquires a blue-green hue and is warmed up by the sun to the maximum. Many plant and animal species form in warm water, so its transparency decreases to 8–10 m.

In winter, the surface of the lake is covered with a layer of ice, dotted with many kilometers of cracks. Explosions occur with a piercing crack, resembling cannon salvos or thunder. They divide the ice surface into separate fields. Cracks help fish not to die due to lack of oxygen under the ice. The sun's rays penetrate through the transparent ice. This contributes to the development of planktonic algae that release oxygen. Baikal freezes almost completely, not counting the area near the upper reaches of the Angara.

Baikal as an ecosystem

More than 3,500 species of animals and plants live in water and on land. Numerous studies often discover new species, the list of inhabitants continues to grow. About 80% of the fauna are endemic, found exclusively in Lake Baikal and nowhere else on earth.

The shores are mountainous, covered with forests; around the game is impenetrable, hopeless. An abundance of bears, sables, wild goats and all kinds of wild stuff ...

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Baikal has a large number of valuable fish: sturgeon, burbot, pike, grayling, taimen, whitefish, omul and others. 80% of the zooplankton biomass of the lake is epishura crustacean, which is endemic. It passes through itself and filters water. Living at the bottom of the viviparous golomyanka fish, it looks unusual and contains more than 30% fat. Biologists are surprised by its constant movement from the depths to shallow water. Freshwater sponges grow at the bottom.

According to the stories of local residents, until the 12th-13th centuries, the Baikal region was inhabited by the Mongolian-speaking Barguts. Then, Buryats began to actively settle on the western coast of the lake and in Transbaikalia. Cossack Kurbat Ivanov became the Russian discoverer of Baikal. The first Russian-speaking settlements appeared at the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries.

Mysteries of Lake Baikal

The crystal waters of Lake Baikal hide many mysteries. Often legends and stories about the lake maneuver on the verge of mysticism and real stories. The researchers found at the bottom of Lake Baikal a lot of meteorite fragments and inexplicable linear arrangements of pitfalls. Some believe that the waters of the lake hold Pandora's casket and the magic crystal of Kali-We. Others claim that the gold reserves of Kolchak and the gold reserves of Genghis Khan are hidden here. There are witnesses who claim that a UFO track passes over the lake.

The ice cover hides many secrets, forcing scientists to draw hypothetical conclusions. Specialists of the Baikal Limnological Station found unique forms of ice cover that are unique to Baikal. Among them: "sokuy", "kolobovnik", "autumn". Ice hills are similar in shape to tents and have a hole with reverse side from the shore. Satellite imagery reveals dark rings. Scientists believe that they are formed due to the rise of deep waters and an increase in the temperature of the water surface.

There are still scientific disputes about the origin of Baikal. According to one version put forward by the doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences A.V. Tatarinov in 2009, after the second stage of the Worlds expedition, the lake is considered young. Scientists have studied the activity of mud volcanoes on the bottom surface. After that, they made an assumption: the age of the deep-water part is 150 thousand years, and the modern coastline is only 8 thousand years. Most ancient lake on earth does not show any signs of aging, as in other similar reservoirs. According to the results of recent research, some experts are inclined to conclude that Baikal can become a new ocean.

Recreation and tourism on Baikal

Favorable time for recreation on Lake Baikal is from mid-July to mid-August. At other times, it becomes cold in the coastal area, and the conditions are more suitable for fans of extreme recreation. But even in summer, a cyclone sometimes comes with a cold wind, sharp temperature drops day and night. An important condition safe rest is a detailed study of the travel route.

Circum-Baikalskaya named the most visited places of rest Railway, Sandy Bay, Listvyanka village, the coast of the Small Sea, Sandy Bay, the western coast of Olkhon, the coast near the city of Severobaikalsk. Other places that can be reached by SUV are also popular.

Baikal, it would seem, should suppress a person with its grandeur and size - everything in it is large, everything is wide, free and mysterious - on the contrary, it elevates him. You experience a rare feeling of elation and spirituality on Baikal, as if in the mind of eternity and perfection, the secret seal of these magical concepts touched you, and you were enveloped in the close breath of an omnipotent presence, and a share of the magical secret of everything that exists entered you. You already seem to be marked and distinguished by the fact that you are standing on this shore, breathing this air and drinking this water. Nowhere else will you have the feeling of such a complete and so desired fusion with nature and penetration into it: you will be intoxicated by this air, swirled and carried away over this water so soon that you will not even have time to come to your senses; you will visit such protected areas that we never dreamed of; and you will return with tenfold hope: there, ahead, is the promised life...

Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin

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. 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 beach holiday. In count sunny days Lake Baikal surpasses many resorts of the Black Sea and Mediterranean coast.

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 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, 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 separate 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 travel by road transport from one locality, 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

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 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. 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 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 the spring, Baikal is also very beautiful, there are no more severe frosts and winds. lovers winter holiday 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.