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Lake Baikal |
Lake Baikal, a large lake with clear water in Russia, has been designated as the lake with the largest volume of water in the world.
The lake, which the Russians call 'Ozero Baykal', or 'Baigal Nuur' in Mongolian, is also recorded as the oldest lake in the world, the deepest lake in the world, and a freshwater lake with the largest volume in the world.
This large freshwater lake is located in southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Republic of Buryatia to the southeast. Lake Baikal is called one of the greatest natural wonders. Lake Baikal is one of the clearest lakes in the world, with bluish water. In fact, because it is so clear, the inside of the lake can be seen from the surface to a depth of about 40 m.
Lake Baikal water has a very low level of salinity, and contains only a small amount of minerals.
Lake Baikal is about 636 km long, 79 km wide, and has a surface area of 31,722 km². Along the shores of the lake, 2,100 km of beaches form. Lake Baikal is a lake with the largest volume of fresh water in the world, capable of storing up to 23% of the world's fresh water reserves, and 90% of Russia's fresh water reserves. This lake has a water volume of 23,615.39 km³.
Such a large volume of fresh water, comes from 330 flowing rivers. There are several main rivers that flow directly into Lake Baikal, namely the Selenga River, Barguzin River, Upper Angara River, Turka River, Sarma River and Snezhnaya River.
A small part of Lake Baikal's water flows out through the Angara River, which is its only outflow.
Lake Baikal has an average depth of 744.4 meters, with a maximum depth of 1,642 meters, making it the deepest freshwater lake in the world.
The water temperature in Lake Baikal varies, depending on the season, and depth, and location. In June, the surface temperature of the lake water begins to warm, with the sun's rays. The peak is in August, the lake water temperature can reach 16° - 20°C, depending on the location and water depth.
In winter and spring, around early January - May, the temperature of the lake water becomes very cold, in fact the entire surface of the lake is covered with a layer of ice, with a thickness of between 0.5 and 2 meters more. The ice layer, besides being thick, is also strong enough to be stepped on by humans walking on it.
Lake Baikal also has waves like the sea. Gusty winds on the surface of the lake create rolling waves that can reach 4.6 m in height.
This ancient lake is estimated to be around 25 million years old. Lake Baikal was formed from a valley that experienced a rift due to the shifting of the earth, the crack continued to grow, thus forming a deep basin that extends like a crescent moon. The large crack got water from hundreds of rivers that flowed into it, eventually forming a very wide lake. Even the rift that forms the lake is still actively moving, and is expanding at about 2 cm per year. This means that Lake Baikal will continue to grow in size every year.
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Olkhon Island |
Lake Baikal has about 45 islets. Olkhon Island, an island with an area of 730 square kilometers is the largest island in this lake.
The environment of this lake is rich in flora and fauna, both those that live in the lake and those around the lake. There are about 1,000 species of plants and 2,500 species of animals that live in the environment of Lake Baikal.
About 65 species of freshwater fish live in Lake Baikal, such as milkfish and omul fish. Besides fish, there are also many other animal species that live in the lake, such as freshwater shrimp and freshwater snails, seals, annelid worms, turbellarian worms, sponges, and zooplankton.
In the habitat around Lake Baikal live many land mammals, such as deer, marmots, Siberian red deer, red foxes, wolves, brown bears, rabbits, wild boars, and red squirrels. Apart from animals, the environment of the lake is also rich in flower species, and some species of green algae.
Lake Baikal, nicknamed the 'Pearl of Siberia', is one of the most visited tourist attractions by tourists. Its beautiful panorama makes tens to hundreds of thousands of tourists visit every year.