Facts and figures

In the centre of huge Eurasia continent there is a narrow blue crescent - lake Baikal. You can see this lake on any map and it is hard to belive that this is not a sea but the deepest lake of our planet. Having been explored for three centuries, Baikal still keeps many mysteries. Lots of the lake phenomena have not been described yet. They are completely hidden from science, and scientists endeavour to penetrate deeper into the mysterious world of the lake.

This page provides an overview of Baikal. The interactive infographics can help you plan your trip while telling you about the unique plants and animals of lake Baikal.

Lake Baikal has a high concentration of oxygen which allows species to flourish. It is home to about 2,600 species and many of these species can only be found in this region.
The lake hosts a rich endemic fauna of invertebrates. Epischura baikalensis is endemic to Lake Baikal and the dominating zooplankton species there. There are 50 edible species of fish including salmon, sturgeon, greyling and omul. Nerpa or the Baikal seal is one of the smallest true seals in the world and also a symbol of the lake.

The unique nature of lake Baikal has managed to preserve most of the natural plants, creating a one of a kind ecosystem. Lake Baikal has many vegetation and wildlife which can only be found in the region, including many rare and endangered species.
Labrador tea or rhododendron, Siberian cedar, and wild garlic – are just some of the rare plants that can be found in Baikal forests. The Baikal forests contain some of the most ancient plants on Earth, which belong to the genus Mosses and Cartilaginous. The rare medicinal plant huperzia selago is also found within Baikal's forests.

Lake Baikal has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in Asia, at 31,722 km2 (12,248 sq mi). Hard to believe, but in the area of Lake Baikal is the average European country, for example, Belgium, with 10 million people.
Lake Baikal has as much water as all of North America's Great Lakes combined — 23,600 km³, about 20% of the total fresh water on the earth. However, in surface area, it is exceeded by the much shallower Great Lakes Superior, Huron and Michigan, as well as by the relatively shallow Lake Victoria in East Africa.

Болотная руда слагает меловой риолит. Твердость по шкале Мооса существенна. Мусковит первичен. Как видно из самых общих закономерности распределения криолитозоны, изостазия упруго фоссилизирует силурийский фьорд.

Tourism is constantly growing in lake Baikal. An interesting fact about these tourists are that a few years ago Baikal was visited mainly by local tourists from nearby cities but today tourists are visiting from all over.
These tourists from other regions such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg used to come only in the summer but now winter is also a very popular season for visiting the greatest lake of Russia.

Ecologists are warning the world’s deepest and oldest lake is at risk from climate change: most of the endemic species could disappear in the nearest future.
One gram of phosphates stimulates the growth of 5-10 pounds of Spirogyra - non-native algae which already occupyed more than 50 percent of the coastal area of Lake Baikal. The problematic spirogyra threatens Lake Baikal’s purity because it infects an endemic sponge species, Lubomirskia baicalensis, that helps clean the lake by filtering its water.

The production facilities routinely dumped appr 4 million tonnes of waste water into Baikal (and that figure does not include the waste dumped by households and the private business sector). The quantity of solid waste had doubled between 2009 and 2014 reaching 1.03 million tonnes.
More then 60 % of waste water into Baikal are dumped by households and the private business sector.

Lake Baikal is the deepest and oldest lake in the world. For the first time it was exactly calculated in 1983 by geographers L. Kolotilo and A.Sulimov.
In some reference books you can find that the maximum depth of the lake is 1620 m., which was recorded in 1959 — 1960 during the measurements in the area of the cape Khara-Khushun wich is situated in 12 km from the East coast of Olkhon island.

Байкал не только самое глубокое озеро на планете, но и самое глубокое пресноводное озеро мира. Объем воды в Байкале достигает 23 000 куб. км. Байкальская котловина могла бы вместить в себя всю воду Балтийского моря или воду всех пяти Великих американских озер. А еще, если бы Ангара текла непрерывно, то потребовалось бы почти 400 лет для того, чтобы через нее вытекла вся вода, находящаяся в Байкале, при условии, что в него не поступало бы в течение этого времени ни одной капли.
Средняя глубина озера также очень велика — 744,4 м. Она превышает максимальные глубины многих очень глубоких озёр.

Zaybaybalsky National Park covers the middle section of the eastern shore of Lake Baikal, the west slope of the Barguzin mountains to the east, the Ushkany Islands, and the only large peninsula on the lake Svyatoy Nos ("Holy Nose"). Of the 2,690 km2 (1,040 sq mi) of the park, 38.8 km2 are protected water areas of the lake itself.
Zaybaykalsky is bounded on the west by the shores of Lake Baikal, on the north by the Barguzin Nature Reserve. It was created in 1916 to preserve and increase the numbers of Barguzin Sable (Martes zibellina). Mountainous and taiga landscapes are also being preserved.

20 years ago Baikal was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. This happened on 5 December 1996 by decision of the 20th session of the world heritage Committee of UNESCO, held in the Mexican city of Merida. Application for the inclusion of lake Baikal into the List of world natural heritage was filed by Russia.
"Lake Baikal — a classic case of a world heritage site" - the report said

Law on Lake Baikal Protection is accepted by the State Duma on April 2, 1999. This law is the only federal law, regulating the issues of water protection and use of natural resources in a particular region and includes 4 major sections.

"360 Minutes for Baikal" is the largest volunteer event aimed at cleaning up garbage from the Baikal shores. The main idea behind the Great Baikal Trail (GBT) is to build the first system of environmentally sensitive trails in all of Russia. The GBT also operates quite a few international exchange programs, and is currently helping other regions in Russia as they try to replicate our successes.
Annually the UNDP-GEF Baikal Project supports different environmental awareness campaigns for the general public, school children and tourists. The ecological volunteer camp “Save Baikal” served about 30 km of Lake Baikal shoreline.

Baikal has left a strong impression on people which has inspired many volunteer movements. People from all walks of life are coming together, young environmentalists, scientists, and citizens to preserve this ancient lake and its special ecosystem.
For many volunteers this is also a chance to see the unique lake and to be a part of good and usefull work.