Lake Baikal is very famous not only within our country, but also in foreign countries. Thanks to the fruitful work of specialists and scientists, Baikal was included in the list of UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites. Those who are interested in this natural object have many questions, for example, about the origin of Lake Baikal, how deep it is, what inhabitants can be seen in it, etc.
Lake Baikal: general characteristics
The total area of the Baikal territory is about 386 thousand square kilometers, all this far exceeds the area of all other national parks and reserves in our country, as well as a number of other foreign countries. Geographically, the Baikal natural area is located in the center of Asia. The length of the famous lake is 636 kilometers, and the width is 79.5 kilometers (with the smallestsection of 25 kilometers). Lake Baikal is rightfully considered the deepest in the world, as its depth is 1637 meters. The formation of the reservoir supposedly began more than 30 million years ago, and therefore this handsome man is considered one of the most ancient lakes in the world. Baikal is located among the broken off parts of the earth's crust, which formed a depression. It expands every year by 2 cm.
Characteristic of mountain lake
Baikal by its nature refers to mountain lakes. Its level rises above the level of the world ocean by 445 meters, and the bottom is 1200 meters below it. According to most historians and geographers, the sediments of the lake territory store information about the features of climate change in Asia over the past tens of millions of years.
This Asian lake contains more than twenty percent of the fresh waters of the entire globe, which fully meet all quality criteria - microbiological, organoleptic, hydrochemical. The water of Lake Baikal is distinguished by unusual purity, transparency, and freshness. To prove the purity of this lake, a Secchi diagnostic disk is used, which is immersed in water to a level of increased transparency. In Lake Baikal, this level corresponds to 40 meters, and, for example, in Lake Sevan, the disk sinks only 20 meters. An amazing fact: Alpine lakes are also inferior to Baikal in terms of water transparency.
Baikal - drain or endorheic lake? Features of the waters of the lake
The dimensions of the basin, or depression, wherelake waters are so large that it can contain the entire contents of the B altic Sea or the five Great Lakes of America. Lake Baikal receives 336 streams and small rivers into its waters. The largest tributaries are the Upper Angara, Turka, Snezhka, Sarma. However, only one river, the Angara, flows out of the lake waters, which is why many scientists are of the opinion that Lake Baikal is waste water. Due to the only river flowing from the lake, it has a connection with the oceans.
There are three types of lakes - sewage, drainless, flowing. Waste lakes - those from which rivers flow, in flowing lakes water circulates - flow in and out, and in drainless water is without movement. Since the Angara River flows out of Baikal, and a huge number of small rivers flow into it, the question of whether Baikal is a sewage or drainless lake always remains the subject of discussion. One of the main evidence in the dispute is the presence of fresh water, which is typical only for flowing and wastewater lakes. Drainage-type lakes are often formed in arid climates, where the amount of precipitation is minimal. Also, this type includes drying seas, for example, the Caspian.
Main Features of Lake Baikal
Based on all of the above, we can distinguish the following features of the lake:
- Contains 20 percent of the world's fresh water.
- One large river flows out - the Angara.
Thus, the eternal discussion about whether Baikal is a sewage or drainless lake can be completed. And withit is safe to say that it belongs to the category of sewage.
Endemic features of Lake Baikal
Another distinguishing feature is the diversity of plants and animals living in the water column of Lake Baikal. At the moment, scientists are registering more than 2565 species of animals and more than a thousand species of plants of the water element.
Some of these plants, about two-thirds, are endemic to the region, so they don't grow anywhere else. According to research, the rich heritage of Lake Baikal has no analogues even among the Great Lakes of the World. Every new year, 20 new species of invertebrates are described for Lake Baikal (drainage or drainless lake, we discussed above). Experts come to the conclusion that at least 1,500 new species of aquatic organisms of this lake will appear.
At the top of the Baikal trophic pyramid is the Baikal seal, or seal, whose ancestor, presumably, was the Arctic seal, which moved many centuries ago along the Yenisei or the Lena.
