The Way Lake Baikal Was Discovered

The discovery of Baikal is considered one of the most important stages in the study of Siberia. The lake has always attracted people: some were attracted by the abundance of its nature, others by unexplored lands, yet others by mystery and mystical power. Therefore, Baikal has many explorers, and all of them explored the lake through different routes, discovering more and more new territories.

Russians came here in 1643 for the first time, when the Cossack Kurbat Ivanov and his squad got here from the Verkhnelensky jail to the western coast of the lake, coming to it directly opposite to the island of Olkhon. Ivanov compiled the “Drawing of Lake Baikal and Rivers and Lands Adjacent to Baikal”:  this was the first schematic map of the places visited by the Cossacks. Then the lake was given its modern name derived from the Buryat “Baigal Dalai” and meaning “a large lake” or “sea”.

Our infographics will show you the stages in the discovery of Baikal that have become the most significant, as well as the routes used in the exploration of the lake.