What is famous for Lake Baikal (briefly)

The young generation had to write a comprehensive work "What is the famous Lake Baikal?" High School 4 class left in our memory is not so much information. This is the deepest lake in the world, - say people over forty. But this is not the only indicator that brings Lake Baikal to the category of record-holders. Well, let's update our information about this pearl of Russia. It's not for nothing that the lake is called the sacred sea! It is rightly considered a unique creation of Mother Nature, the pride and national treasure of Russia.

As a natural object, Baikal was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List (at number 754) in 1996, at the twentieth session of UNESCO. What is the uniqueness of this lake? We will discuss this in our article.

Where is located and what is famous Lake Baikal (briefly)

This natural unique attraction is located almost in the center of Asia. On the map of our country the lake is located in Eastern Siberia, in the southernmost part of it. It administratively serves as a boundary between the Buryat Republic and the Irkutsk region of the Russian Federation. The Baikal is so large that it can be seen even from outer space. In the blue crescent, it stretches from the south-west to the northeast. Therefore, the local population often calls Lake Baikal not a lake, but a sea. "Baigal Dalai" - so respectfully call it Buryats. Coordinates at the lake are: 53 ° 13 'North latitude and 107 ° 45' East longitude.

What is famous about Lake Baikal? Let's look at its various parameters.

Depth

Let's start with the capital truths. Baikal is not only the deepest lake on the planet, but also the most impressive continental depression. This title was confirmed by scientific research conducted in 1983. The deepest place in the lake - 1642 meters from the surface of the water mirror - has the coordinates 53 ° 14'59 "north latitude and 108 ° 05'11" eastern longitude. Thus, the lower point of Lake Baikal lies 1187 meters below sea level. And the water surface of the lake has a height of 455 meters above the oceans.

The average depth of Lake Baikal is also impressive: seven hundred and forty-four meters. Only two lakes in the world have an indicator per kilometer between the water mirror and the bottom. This is the Caspian Sea (1025 m) and Tanganyika (1470 m). The very, very deep is the lake Baikal is famous for. In English in Google in the number of three record holders falls some East. This lake was found in Antarctica. It has a depth of more than 1200 meters, and over the water surface another four kilometers of ice rises. Thus, we can say that the distance between the surface of the earth and the bottom of the East is more than five thousand meters. But this pond is not a lake in the usual sense of the word. Rather, it is an underground (ice) water reservoir.

Dimensions

The area of this pond is 31 722 square kilometers. That is, the size of the lake is quite comparable with such European countries as Switzerland, Belgium or the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The length of Lake Baikal is six hundred and twenty kilometers, and the width varies within 24-79 km. At the same time, the coastline stretches for two thousand one hundred kilometers. And this is not counting the islands!

Dimensions - this is what Lake Baikal is famous for, although this figure does not make it the biggest-largest on the planet. But the reservoir occupies an honorable eighth place among the giants. Ahead are the Caspian (which is also a lake, although salty), the Upper in America, Victoria, Huron, Michigan, the Aral Sea and Tanganyika.

Honorary age

Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin. This explains its record depth. But when did the tectonic fracture occur? This question is still open to scientists. Traditionally, Baikal's age is estimated at 20-25 million years. This figure seems fantastic. After all, the lakes "live" on average about ten, in extreme cases, fifteen thousand years. Then alluvial deposits, muddy sediments accumulate and change the entire ecosystem. The lake turns into a swamp, and it, after centuries, into a meadow. But Siberians are famous for their long-livers. And what is famous about Lake Baikal is its venerable age.

It should be said that the Siberian giant is also unique in other parameters - hydrological. Baikal feeds about three hundred rivers, and only one of them flows out of it - the Angara. And one more uniqueness: seismic activity in the tectonic fault. From time to time, earthquakes occur at the bottom of the lake. Generally, sensors fix them about two thousand per year. But sometimes there are big earthquakes. So, in 1959, from the push of the bottom, the lake sank by fifteen meters.

The most interesting was the Kudara earthquake in 1862, when a huge piece of land (200 sq. Km.) With six villages inhabited by one thousand three hundred people went under water. This place in the delta of the Selenga River is now called Gulf of Failure.

Unique fresh water tank

Despite the fact that the pearl of Siberia occupies only the eighth place in the world in size, according to the volume of water it goes into the records. What is famous about Lake Baikal in this respect? Most of the water is in the Caspian. But there it is salty. Thus, Baikal can be called an unconditional leader. It contains 23,615.39 cubic kilometers of water. This is about twenty percent of the total reserve of all lakes on the planet. To demonstrate the significance of this figure, let's imagine that we managed to block all three rivers flowing into Baikal. But even then the Angara would need three hundred and eighty-seven years to drain the lake.

Unique fauna and flora

Strangeness is also the fact that, despite the immense depth of Lake Baikal, there is a bottom vegetation in the lake. This is explained by seismic activity under the tectonic depression. Magma heats the bottom layers and enriches them with oxygen. Such warm water rises, while the cold water descends. Half of the 2,600 species of animals and plants that inhabit the water area are endemic. Most of all biologists are surprised by the Baikal seal. The only mammal of the lake lives 4 thousand kilometers from its marine counterparts and has adapted to fresh water quite well.

It's hard to say which lake Lake Baikal is most famous for. Perhaps it's a golomlyanka. She is viviparous. Her body contains up to 30 percent fat. She also surprises scientists with her daily migrations. Shoals of fish rise behind the food from dark depths to shallow water. Still in the lake live Baikal sturgeon, omul, whitefish, grayling. And the bottom is covered with freshwater sponges.

Purity and transparency of water

With such a water mirror and the presence of nearby industrial enterprises, it would be logical to think that Lake Baikal will become polluted. It was not there! The water here is not that drinking, but close to distilled water. You can drink it without fear. A helps the lake to self-clean the crustacean epishura. This endemic in the size of one and a half millimeter serves as a natural filter: it passes water through itself, assimilating all the dirt. As a result, pebbles on the bottom can be seen as in the palm of your hand. Transparency of water to forty meters - that's what Lake Baikal is famous for. The photo of this unique pond demonstrates the majestic pristine beauty of nature. It depends on us if we keep it for posterity.