Lake Baikal
freshwater rift lake in southern Siberia, Russia / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lake Baikal is a huge lake in Siberia, Russia. It is the biggest fresh water reservoir in the world. The lake is near Irkutsk.
Quick Facts Coordinates, Primary inflows ...
Lake Baikal | |
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Coordinates | 53°30′N 108°0′E |
Lake type | Continental rift lake |
Primary inflows | Selenge, Barguzin, Upper Angara |
Primary outflows | Angara |
Catchment area | 560,000 km2 (216,000 sq mi) |
Basin countries | Russia and Mongolia |
Max. length | 636 km (395 mi) |
Max. width | 79 km (49 mi) |
Surface area | 31,722 km2 (12,248 sq mi)[1] |
Average depth | 744.4 m (2,442 ft)[1] |
Max. depth | 1,642 m (5,387 ft)[1] |
Water volume | 23,615.39 km3 (5,700 cu mi)[1] |
Residence time | 330 years[2] |
Shore length1 | 2,100 km (1,300 mi) |
Surface elevation | 455.5 m (1,494 ft) |
Frozen | January–May |
Islands | 27 (Olkhon) |
Settlements | Irkutsk |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Close
Baikal is about 636 km (395 mi) long. It is 20 to 80 km (12 to 50 mi) wide. At its deepest point, it is 1,700 m (5,600 ft) deep. It is the deepest lake on Earth.[3][4] The lake is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It holds about 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water.[5]
The lake has unique fish. It is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals. Two-thirds of them can be found nowhere else.[6]