Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is the deepest (1637metres), oldest lake in the world and also the largest (by volume 31,494 km²) freshwater lake on Earth. It is located nearly in the center of Asia in a huge stone bowl set 445 m above sea level. A World Heritage Site, it lies in Southern Siberia in Russia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and Buryatia to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk.The lake is completely surrounded by mountains and contains 22 small islands and is fed by some 300 inflowing rivers and is drained through a single outlet, the Angara River.

The name derives from Tatar "Bai-Kul" - "rich lake". It is also known as the Blue Eye of Siberia and in the Buryat and Mongol languages it is called Dalai-Nor, or "Sacred Sea".Its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science. It has 1085 species of plants and 1550 species and new varieties of animals and species of organisms are continuously developing in the lake.

The most fascinating animal is the Baikal Seal or Nurpa, which is the world's only fresh seal and the only mammal living in the lake. There are about 40 species of sculpins and 240 species of amphipods, crustaceans, various flat and round worms, lower crustaceans, insects and mollusks. Omul fish is another famous fish, which is fished, smoked and sold is a treat to travellers.Baikal has more than 1,000 species of aquatic flora! Besides the algae, about 20 species of flowering plants, rhdest, thin reed, water buckwheat, cattail, hornwort, and sedge have been found here. There is a geothermal vent on the northern end of the lake that provides warmth for the species of wildlife underwater.

The area adjacent to Lake Baikal is also a treasure trove of mineral resources. Everyone who has been to this wondrous place is overwhelmed and captivated by the splendor, dimension and unusual might of this Siberian miracle of nature.

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Allwondersoftheworld.com brings out the unique features of the wonder lake Baikal which nurtures peculiar species of life together in its abyssal fresh waters.