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Details & Facts about Baikal Lake
Physical & Geographical Data:
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Proper name - Baikal {by-kahl'}
Names used earlier - Lamu, Beihai, Tengis, Tengis-dalai, Baigal, Sacred sea,
Angarsk sea, Tuha-sea.
click here to learn more about the names of Baikal |
Time of formation - middle of the Palaeogene period,
25-30 million years ago. Baikal is the oldest and the largest freshwater lake in the
world. Scientists are still debating the lakes origin.
more about Baikal origin and formation
Geographic position - between 51°29' - 55°46' north / 103°43' -
109°56' east
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Location - Central Asia, Russia, in the south of Eastern Siberia, on the border
between Irkutsk region and the Buryat Autonomous Republic, 1000 km inland. Lake
Baikal lies between mountain ridges. (the Primorsky and the Baikalsky - are on the
West side; the Barguzin - along the Eastern shore). It occupies the cleft between
mountains. |
Length (talweg) - 636km/395ml. The distance between Moscow & St. Petersburg.
Length of the shoreline - 2000 km/1243 ml
Width maximum - 79.5 km/50 ml (abeam of Onguren and Ust-Barguzin villages)
Width minimum - 25 km/16 ml
Width medium - 47.8 km/30 ml
Depth maximum - 1637 m (sounded 1642). The deepest among the world's lakes
The coordinates of this point are N 53° 14' 59" - E 108° 05' 11".
Depth average - 758 m
Depth of the Southern basin - maximum 1461 m / medium 843 m
The coordinates of this point are N 51° 46' 32" - E 105° 22' 03".
Depth of the Central Basin - maximum 1642 m / medium 854 m
The coordinates of this point are N 53° 14' 59" - E 108° 05' 11".
Depth of the Northern basin - maximum 904 m / medium 576 m
The coordinates of this point are N 54° 20' 43" - E 108° 42' 53".
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The maximum sounded depth of 1642 m was measured by Hydrographic Service of Central Administration
of Navigation and Oceanography and shown at the map "Lake Baikal", scale 1:500,000,
published in 1992. Considering that the lake surface is at 455.5 m above sea level, the deepest point
of Lake Baikal is at 1186.5 m below sea level. The depth of 1637 m - the maximum depth to the south-west of
Izhimey Cape - was reached by manned submersible "Pisces" in 1992. |
Area of the surface - 31722 km2 (Islands not
included). The surface area has increased at 500 km2
after the construction of Irkutsk power station dam.
The total surface area of the Northern Basin is 13690 km2
The total surface area of the Central Basin is 10600 km2
The total surface area of the Southern Basin is 7432 km2
Area of Baikal's catchment (approx.) - 570000 km2
Areas of the Baikal bays:
Barguzinsky Bay - 791 km2
Chivirkuysky Bay - 268 km2
Proval Bay - 191 km2
Maloe More (including Mukhor Bay) - 1019 km2
Area (total) of 22 islands - 716 km2
Number of tributaries > 330 (most are minor). Largest rivers flowing to
Baikal are Selenga, Upper Angara and Barguzin.
Number of outflowing rivers = 1 (Angara river)
Number of capes on Baikal = North-western coast 101 / South-eastern coast 73
Number of islands = 22. Olkhon island is the biggest.
Number of hot springs - about 35
Comparative features of different parts of Baikal lake:
| Basin location |
Area / km2 |
Volume / km3 |
Average depth / m |
Max. depth / m |
| Southern Baikal |
7381 |
6228 |
843 |
1446 |
| Central Baikal |
10469 |
8943 |
854 |
1642* (1637) |
| Northern Baikal |
13621 |
7844 |
576 |
903 |
The lake surface area above the sea level / altitude - 455.5 m
The lake bottom bellow the sea level - 1186.5 m
Water volume total - 23615,390 km3
Water volume total = 23,6 x 1015 liters
The total volume of water contained in the Northern Basin is 8192,070 km3
The total volume of water contained in the Central Basin is 9080,650 km3
The total volume of water contained in the Southern Basin is 6342,670 km3
Water value = 23 x 1015 $ US
Water level average annual changes under the natural conditions - 82 cm
Water level average annual after the construction of Irkutsk power station - 94 cm
Water level seasonal changes = 60 - 120 cm
Water level multiyear amplitude of level changes - 2,23 m
Water - fresh, hydrocarbonaceous and calcium, level of mineralization 96,6 mg/l.
The water in Lake Baikal is good for drinking without any purification.
more about the water of Baikal Lake
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Baikal - the world's largest freshwater lake by volume. It is 20% of the world's and 80% of
Community of Independent States' surface fresh waters. It has as much water as all
5 Great Lakes together. Such volume is exceeded only by the Caspian Sea (which has
a lot of lake features). Scientists concluded that it would take all the rivers of
the world - Volga, Don, Dneper and Yenisei, Ural and Ob, Ganges and Orinoco, Amazon
and Thames, Seine and Oder - nearly one year to fill lake Baikal's basin, and it
would take four hundred years for all the rivers, streams and brooks now flowing
into the Siberian lake-sea. The water is so clear that the white-metal disk can be
seen well at the depth of 40 metres, which compares to 15 metres transparency of the
Baltic Sea. |
Sediments' thickness: maximum - 8 km/5 ml
Sediments' volume - 46 000 km3
Thickness of the earth's crust - 38-42 km
Thickness of current conductive layer - 40 km
more about the earth's crust thickness
Precipitation. The average annual precipitation in the middle and the north of
Baikal is 200-350 mm and 500-900 mm in the south.
Ice regime. Ice reaches a thickness of 50 cm - 2 metres. Lake Baikal usually
freezes in early January and the ice breaks in May.
more about the ice conditions
Winds. The best known is the Sarma, named after the Sarma River. It blows with
speeds of 15-40 metres/per second. Also Barguzin - east wind from the Barguzin valley.
Kultuk - wind along the lake near its southern end. Verhovik - blows from mountains
apices.
more about the winds of Baikal
Temperature characteristics:
- surface water t° in the open lake during summer: +9 +13°C
- surface water t° near the shore +10 +14°C and sometimes as high as +20°C.
- average air t° in January and February: -19°C
- average air t° in August about: +17°C
more about the climate of Baikal
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Seasonal changes of the temperature occur only in the upper zones and are not
observed deeper than 200-250 m (+3°C). Because of the great depth, the
lake cools off very slowly and warms up equally slowly. Water temperatures never
get very warm during summer. Lake Baikal influences the climate around it, making
summers cooler and winters milder, than in Irkutsk. Lake Baikal acts as a cold
source during summer and a warm source during autumn and early winter before it
freezes over. |
Fauna and Flora:
animals / mammals - more than 500 species
more about the wildlife of Baikal
fish / ichthyofauna - 53 species
more about the fish of Baikal
plants - about 1200 species.
more about Baikal vegetation
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Baikal's exceptionally mineral-free waters support an unusual population of
organisms, including many species endemic to the lake and its vents (84% found
no where else on earth). Some of the plants and animals can be dated to prehistoric
times. As a result, Baikal is a huge natural laboratory. |
Other data:
Depth of earthquake hypocentres - 22-24 km
more about the seismic activity
Average slope of floor - 4°
Tectonic rate of the Baikal shores' divergence = 0.7 - 2 cm/year
The ratio of the lake catchment area to its surface - 17.2
Underwater country - Baikalida (sunken settlements).
The Olkhon island:
length - 71.7 km
maximum width - 14 km
area - 700 km2
altitude above the sea level (Izhima mountain) - 1274 m
Archipelago of Ushkany Islands:
area of Big Ushkany Island - 15 km2
altitude above the lake's level - 211 m
Comparative characteristics of Lake Baikal and Tanganyika Lake in Africa. Both
lakes are of the tectonic origin, and they have similar shapes. Lake Baikal is a "living
lake", even at its deepest places and Lake Tanganyika is inhabited only in upper layers.
Water of Lake Baikal is very rich with oxygen, it helps to preserve life. |
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