Irkutsk-Baykal-Trevel Ink, Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia

Irkutsk-Baykal-Trevel Ink, Irkutsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia  

There is no such a glorified lake in the world as Lake Baikal. It can’t be repeated and it is so fantastic, and all other Russian lakes seem in comparison with it small and fleet. The enormous size and depth of this lake, a surprising clearness and transparency of its emerald-green waters, severe beauty of the shores make an unforgettable impression. And if to ask experienced travelers to name three finest places of Russia, all of them will name among other Lake Baikal. The Russian Cossacks-pathfinders who have seen it in the XVII century for the first time named this lake “The Big Ocean-Sea “.

However, the Cossack Pentecostal Kurbat Ivanov who led his detachment to the Baikal shore in 1643 wasn’t the pioneer of Baikal. Before the Russian arrival there lived the different peoples for many centuries. And all of them gave to huge reservoir majestic names. Mongols, for example, named it Dalai Nor – “Great lake”, and Evenki – “the Lama” that means “The Sea”. And now inhabitants of coastal settlements, speaking about Baikal, usually call it “the sea”. There is no wonder in it: the length of a huge reservoir – six hundred forty kilometers (it is a bit less, than from Moscow to Petersburg), and width in the middle part reaches eighty kilometers! The area of Baikal (31500 sq. km) takes the eighth place in the world among lakes and is approximately equal to the area of such country, as Belgium.

There are no lakes deeper than Baikal on continents of our planet: underwater echo sounder metered 1637 meters to the east from island Olkhon in 1974. The bottom of the Baikal cavity is 1200 meters below the ocean level and it is the lowest place on the whole land of the globe. The lake cavity contains the fifth part of all fresh water on the Earth (23000 cubic km). To take it out in the sea, all the rivers of the planet should work for eight months! In volume of water Baikal almost a hundred times surpasses the sea of Azov and in thirty times the Aral sea. Besides, Baikal is the purest on the Earth natural storehouse of fresh potable water. There are no open reservoirs with fresh water suitable for drinking in the world. Baikal is the only exception, whose waters possess exclusively high flavoring qualities.

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