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The unique phenomenon
of the Earth, Baikal, with
its inimitable beauty,
flora and fauna, peculiar water
features, ancient origin,
attracts attention of
the peoples from
all over the world. The
lake is known as the natural laboratory
of the largest fresh - water
reservoir on the Earth. Baikal is
located almost in
the central part
of Asia, its length is 636, width 81 km (min – 27 km). The area of the lake is 31500 sq.m., which
is approximately
equal to the territories of such countries as
Belgium and Holland taken together. The shoreline of Baikal is 2000 km long. According to
the area Baikal is the eighth greatest
lake in the world, but
the depth –
1620 m –
makes it the unique. Due
to its unusual depth the lake possesses a huge water mass 23000 cub. m. It exceeds the
volume of the Baltic Sea
or five Great Lakes of America. Baikal
is the biggest fresh - water
reservoir on the Earth, it contains 20 % of the world fresh
- water resources. 330 rivers, small and big, fall into Baikal and only one, the Angara - river, flows out of it. There are 22 islands at Baikal, Olkhon is
the biggest one.
It is located in the middle of
the lake, not far from the deepest part of Baikal (1637
m). The origin of Baikal is still the subject of scientific investigations and debates, but many incline to
the “rift originating”.
The variety of
the landscapes of
Baikal forms its climate and
wind regimes. In
winter a temperature is 5
– 7 degrees higher, than
in Irkutsk, in
summer it is lower. In
autumn there appear strong winds,
that cause storms at the lake. There are 6 winds well known at Baikal, the
emerge of each is a barometer for
the local population. Baikal freezes
in January, the
ice is 1
– 1.5 m
thick, at open parts of the lake its surface is
polished by winds like a glass. Fauna
of the lake is rich and various, ten families of fish, 50 species of them inhabit the
lake. Half of them,
bullheads, golomyanka are
endemic. The famous Baikal fish
– omul, grayling, sig refer to the salmon family.
The mammals of Baikal are represented by the Baikal seals.
The lake
is surrounded by mountains. Its north
- western coast is formed by the Primorsky range,
the eastern coast
– Barguzinsky
ridge, the southern –
Khamar - Daban ridge. Along
the shoreline of
Baikal mountain slopes
are cut by the deep narrow valleys.
They are covered by the Siberian thick
forest – taiga: birch-, larch-,
alder- trees, further
up the mountain slopes, they
are changed by
cedar - fir - trees. In comparison to the europian forests,
there are such giants of
pine trees in the taiga, which are 500 – 600 years
old. On the frontier of
the land and water on the shores of Baikal the life has different fascinating
forms. Some animals inhabit
the land, but feed in the lake; the others always live
in water, but
breed and end lifetime on
land. Siberian taiga
is a homeplace for rein
- deer, moose, musk deer, Siberian roe, wild boar, ermine, lynx, wolverine. The host
of taiga is certainly the brown bear. The taiga shelters and feeds not only predators but
the fur animals such as squirrel, kolinsky,
polar fox, mink. But the nature created
the most valuable fur animal in the taiga –
sable, that lives only in cold Siberian forests. A
sable deserves a
special attention not
only due to the beautiful dark - brown
fur, its fur is long - wearing and practical.
Irkutsk is situated 70 km from Baikal, a nice road through the forest leads to the lake. There is a part of the Transsiberian
that runs along the shore of Baikal for
6 hours. Almost
from each inhabited spot nearby Baikal, whatever
it is – city, town, village, there
is a road or a path to the lake. Baikal welcomes you at any time of a year.
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