Ancient Baikal. The history of Baikal and its origin

The origin of Lake Baikal is tectonic. It is in Siberia; is the deepest in the world. The lake and all adjacent territories are inhabited by quite diverse and unique species of animals and plants. An interesting fact is that in Russian Federation Baikal is called the sea.

At the moment, there are disputes about how old the reservoir actually is. As a rule, everyone adheres to the framework: 25-35 million years. However, it is precisely about the exact calculations that discussions are underway. Such a "lifespan" for the lake is very uncharacteristic, as a rule, all lakes become swampy after 10-15 thousand years of existence.

General geographic information

Lake Baikal is located in the center of Asia, it stretches from the southwest to the northeast. Its length is 620 km, the minimum width is 24 km, and the maximum width is 79 km. The coastline stretches for 2 thousand km. The lake basin is surrounded by hills and mountain ranges. In the west, the coast is steep, rocky. In the east, the coastline is gentle.

This body of water is the deepest in the world. The total area of ​​Lake Baikal is 31 thousand km2. The average depth of the reservoir is 744 meters. Due to the fact that the basin lies 1 thousand meters below the level of the World Ocean, the basin of this lake is one of the deepest.

Fresh water supply - 23 thousand km 3. Among the lakes, Baikal ranks second in this figure. It yields, however, the difference is that the latter has salty waters. An interesting fact is that the reservoir has more water than the entire system

In the 19th century, it was found that 336 water streams flow into Baikal. At the moment, there is no exact figure, and scientists constantly give different data: from 544 to 1120.

Climate and waters of Baikal

The description of Lake Baikal makes it possible to understand that the water of the reservoir contains a lot of oxygen, few minerals (suspended and dissolved) and organic impurities.

Due to the climate, the waters here are quite cold. In summer, the temperature of the layers does not exceed 9 degrees, less often - 15 degrees. The highest temperature was +23 degrees in some bays.

When the water is blue (as a rule, it becomes blue in the spring), the bottom of the lake is visible if its depth in this place does not exceed 40 meters. In summer and autumn, the pigment that colors the water disappears, the transparency becomes minimal (no more than 10 m). There are also few salts, so you can use water as distilled.

Freeze up

Freezing lasts from the beginning of January to the first decade of March. The entire surface of the reservoir is covered with ice, except for the one located in the Angara. From June to September Baikal is open for navigation.

The thickness of the ice, as a rule, does not exceed 2 meters. When severe frosts appear, cracks break the ice into several large pieces. As a rule, gaps occur in the same areas. At the same time, they are accompanied by a very loud sound that resembles shots or thunder. The problems of Lake Baikal are not entirely obvious, but this one is the main one. Thanks to the cracks, the fish do not die, as the water is enriched with oxygen. Due to the fact that the ice transmits the sun's rays, algae grow well in the water.

Origin of Lake Baikal

Questions about the origin of Baikal still do not have an exact answer, and scientists are discussing this issue. Now there is evidence that the current coastline is no more than 8 thousand years old, while the reservoir itself has existed much longer.

Some researchers admit the idea that the origin of Lake Baikal is associated with the presence of a mantle plume, others - with a transform fault zone, and still others - with a collision of the Eurasian plate. At the same time, the reservoir is still changing due to constant earthquakes.

What is known for certain is that the depression in which Baikal is located is a rift one. Its structure is similar to that of the Dead Sea basin.

The origin of the basin of Lake Baikal fell on the Mesozoic period. However, some are of the opinion that this happened 25 million years ago. Since the reservoir has several basins, they all differ both in the time of formation and in structure. Currently, the emergence of new ones continues. Due to a strong earthquake, a section of the island went under water and a small bay was formed. In 1959, due to the same natural disaster, the bottom of the reservoir sank several meters down.

Underground, the subsoil is constantly heating up, this greatly affects the origin of the Baikal basin. It is these areas of the earth that are capable of lifting the earth's crust, breaking it, deforming it. Most likely, it was this process that became decisive in the formation of the ridges that surround the entire reservoir. At the moment, tectonic depressions surround Baikal from almost all sides.

Many people know the fact that every year the shores of the lake move away from each other by 2-3 cm. The origin of Lake Baikal influenced the seismic activity in this area. Now there is not a single volcano in the reservoir zone, but volcanic activity is still present.

The relief of the lake developed under the influence of the Ice Age. In some moraines, their influence is observed. Blocks up to 120 meters in size fell into the reservoir. It is also possible that the origin of Lake Baikal was associated with the melting of ice floes. But what is known for sure is that the reservoir is not covered with ice for a long time, thanks to which life is preserved in it.

Flora and fauna

Baikal is rich in fish and plants. 2 thousand species of marine animals live here. Most of them are endemic, that is, they can live only in this reservoir. Such a large number of inhabitants of the lake is due to the fact that there is a sufficient oxygen content in the water. Often found They play an important role in the life of the entire Baikal, as they perform a filtering function.

Stages of studying and settling the lake

According to the documents that were found as a result of the inspection of Lake Baikal, until the 12th century, the adjacent territories were inhabited by the Buryats. They first mastered the western coast, and later reached Transbaikalia. Russian settlements appeared only in the 18th century.

Ecological situation

Baikal has a unique ecology. In 1999, official regulations were adopted that protect the reservoir. A regime has been established that controls all human activity. The problems of Lake Baikal are associated with cutting down trees, which has a strong impact on the environment. People doing such things are prosecuted by law.

origin of name

This question is still unclear, and the data provided by scientists vary greatly. To date, there are more than ten explanations and conjectures. Some are based on the version, which lies in the origin of the name from the Turkic language (Bai-Kul), others - Mongolian (Bagal, also Baigal Dalai). Those people who lived on the shore of the lake itself called it completely differently: Lamu, Beihai, Beigal-Nuur.

Baikal can be reached from any direction. As a rule, tourists visit it in Severobaikalsk, Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude.

A few kilometers from Irkutsk is Listvyanka - a village near the reservoir itself. It is he who leads in the number of tourists. Here you can spend your vacation quite actively and enjoy the beauty of the lake.

Khakusy resort is located on the northern shore of Lake Baikal. In addition, you can meet

Experts still cannot determine the exact age of the reservoir - presumably 25-35 million years. And this is the main mystery of the many: after all, the lakes exist for about 10-15 thousand years, after which they turn into a swamp or finally dry up. Baikal not only does not grow old - on the contrary, the researchers note that the formation continues to this day. Every year, its shores diverge by 2 cm. Therefore, many experts believe that the amazing lake is not a lake at all, but a nascent ocean.

Although recently, at the suggestion of the doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences Alexander Tatarinov, the version about the relative youth of Baikal has been increasingly discussed. And there is evidence, albeit indirect, for this. It is enough to look deeper into the history of Baikal. Investigating the material composition of bottom sediments and the physical and chemical processes occurring in them, scientists came to the conclusion that the shoreline of the lake is about 8 thousand years old, and the deep-water parts are about 150 thousand years old.

There are many assumptions about how the miracle lake appeared.

Some experts believe that the depression was formed in the Precambrian period by the confluence of three basins: in the Lower Cambrian era, they made up three bays of the Lower Cambrian Sea. Then the sea receded, and these three basins remained closed. Subsequently, over many years and epochs, erosion destroyed the barriers between them and connected the basins to each other.

The Baikal basin appeared due to a long process of subsidence, which continues to this day, others believe.

Some scientists suggest that the formation of the lake is associated with its location within the boundaries of a transform fault, others believe that the formation of Baikal is associated with the presence of a hot mantle flow under it. There is also an opinion that the lake appeared as a result of shifts of a huge fault that crosses Eurasia from the southwest to the northeast. The Baikal depression, according to this theory, was formed due to a fault that ran at an angle to the main fault. Such a mechanism is called "pull-apart" in the literature. This explains the rhombic shape of the Baikal depression, as well as tectonic movements during earthquakes.

The latest results obtained using the seismic tomography method in the Laboratory of Geodynamics and Paleomagnetism of the Institute of Geology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences allowed us to take a fresh look at this problem and propose a scheme for the formation and evolution of the Baikal region.

Thus, geologists do not yet have exact data on the time of the origin of Baikal. At the same time, there are currently no grounds to deny its existence back in the Cenozoic era. It is obvious that the history of the emergence of Baikal will worry scientists around the world for a long time to come.

Lake Baikal

The crescent of the lake is located in the very center of the Baikal rift zone - a break in the earth's crust in the continental part of Eurasia. There is constantly high seismic activity. In the very basin of the lake there is a continuous anomalous heating of the earth's interior. Scientists believe that heated substances could lift the earth's crust, deforming and cracking it. As a result of this movement, a chain of ridges surrounding the lake was probably formed.

What is certain is that the lake is located in a rift basin and is similar in structure, for example, to the Dead Sea basin. Some researchers explain the formation of Baikal by its location in the zone of a transform fault, others suggest the presence of a mantle plume under the lake, and others explain the formation of the basin by passive rifting as a result of the collision of the Eurasian plate and Hindustan.

Be that as it may, the transformation of Baikal continues to this day - earthquakes constantly occur in the vicinity of the lake, which means that the history of Baikal will continue. There are suggestions that the subsidence of the basin is associated with the formation of vacuum chambers due to the outpouring of basalts on the surface (Quaternary period).

In 1996 the lake was listed world heritage UNESCO.

Baikal is located almost in the center of Asia. Its length is 636 km, the maximum width is 81 km, the length of the coastline is about 2 thousand km. The area is 31.5 thousand square kilometers, and here it is second only to the Caspian, Victoria, Tanganyika, Huron, Michigan and Upper and ranks seventh among the world's lakes. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world: 1637 m, its average depth is 730 m. But on the other hand, it is unrivaled in terms of water volume among the fresh lakes of the world. 23 thousand cubic km of Baikal waters - neither more nor less - 20% of the world and 80% of Russia's water reserves. Moreover, there is more water in Baikal than in all the Great American Lakes combined.

"Baikal" - the history of the name

The most common version is that “Baikal” is a Turkic-speaking word, comes from “bay” - rich, “kul” - lake, which means “rich lake”. However, there is evidence that in the past different peoples called the lake differently.

Chinese in ancient chronicles 110 BC the Mongols called it "Beihai" - the northern sea, the Mongols - "Tengis", "Tengis-dalai", the Buryat-Mongols - "Baigaal-dalai" - a large body of water, the ancient peoples of Siberia - "Lamu", which means the sea. Under the name "Lamu" the lake is often mentioned in Evenk legends, and it was under this name that Russian explorers first became known.

After the first Russian detachment came to the shore of the lake in 1643 under the leadership of Kurbat Ivanov, the Russians switched to the Buryat-Mongolian name "Baigaal" or "Baigaal-dalai". At the same time, they linguistically adapted it to their language, replacing the “g” characteristic of the Buryats with the more familiar “k” for the Russian language - Baikal.

The history of the discovery of Baikal

One of the most important stages in the exploration of Siberia can rightfully be considered the discovery of Lake Baikal. The Russians first came here in 1643, when the Cossack Kurbat Ivanov and his detachment reached the western coast of the lake from Verkhnelensky prison, coming out to it directly opposite Olkhon Island. Ivanov compiled a "Drawing of Baikal and the falling rivers and lands to Baikal" - the first schematic map of the places visited by the Cossacks. This is how the history of Baikal began.

Two years later, ataman Vasily Kolesnikov prepared a detachment of hundreds of Cossacks and went to Baikal in search of silver ore, which, according to rumors, was in abundance in these parts. Having sailed to the northern end of the lake, he founded the Verkhneangarsky prison, which became a staging post for moving further, to Transbaikalia and the Far East.

One of the main events of these years was the foundation by Yakov Pokhabov in 1661 of the Irkutsk prison on the right bank of the Angara opposite the mouth of the Irkut. And for three and a half centuries, Baikal has been inextricably linked with Irkutsk, the city that has become its “gateway”. Anyone who comes to the Baikal region will certainly stop at.

It is impossible not to mention Archpriest Avvakum, a prominent church leader of the 17th century, who was exiled to Siberia for his Old Believer views. In his Life of Archpriest Avvakum, he vividly described what he saw on his way to exile in the 1650s: The water is fresh, seals and hares are great in it: in the ocean-sea, living on the Mezen, I have not seen such. For the first time, Baikal and its environs were described in such detail.

Lake Baikal for the majority is somewhere very far away. The origin of Lake Baikal is shrouded in legends about great catastrophes on a planetary scale, about gods and their deeds. The scientific point of view also exists - there is no mysticism in it, of course.

Lake Baikal is located on the territory of the Irkutsk region and Buryatia. It is considered a lake of tectonic origin. The age of Baikal is estimated differently. Some scientists put 35 million years. But the doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences A.V. Tatarinov in 2009 put forward a version that the deep-water part of Lake Baikal was formed 150 thousand years ago, and the modern coastline was only 8 thousand years old. Tatarinov substantiated such results with the results of the Mirs expedition to Baikal. So, with the age of Lake Baikal, everything is also very ambiguous.

Lake Baikal is also called the Siberian Sea.

Lake Baikal contains 19% of the world's fresh water. How much water is in Lake Baikal is estimated at 23,615 km³. There is only one lake in the world, the displacement of which is greater than in Baikal - the Caspian Sea (not everyone knows, but there is a lake along this sea).

Despite the fact that Baikal is located in, there is a lot of sun here. The climatic conditions on Lake Baikal have their own unique features: either the sun is mercilessly hot, but cold winds blow, then fierce storms fly in, then calm and hot weather sets in in summer, and tens of thousands of tourists flock to Lake Baikal for beach holiday. In terms of the number of sunny days, Lake Baikal surpasses many resorts on the Black Sea and Mediterranean coasts.

The maximum depth of Lake Baikal is 1642 m. Many people write that Lake Baikal is shaped like a crescent moon. Rather, sorry if something is wrong - a banana. But very big. The length of Baikal is 620 km (as from Moscow to St. Petersburg approximately), the width reaches 80 km. The length of the coastline is 2100 km.

Lake Baikal has 27 islands, the largest of them. Many islands are sacred local residents and protected by law. In general, there are many sacred places on Baikal, the history of which is shrouded in mystery and legends. The predominant religion here is rather Buddhism, at least Buddhist symbols and objects of worship are found everywhere.

Lake Baikal water

The water temperature in Baikal is a phenomenon. In summer, only the upper layer of water and shallow coastal bays warm up in the lake. But at a depth the temperature is always constant - about +4 ° C.

The waters of Lake Baikal are a separate mystery. Lakes of this age do not have such crystal clear water, and in Baikal it is very clean. Usually, over time, lakes silt up, and after 10-15 thousand years, swamps are already in their place. Baikal not only does not grow shallow, but also contains clean water that you can drink directly from the lake without fear. In addition, the water of Lake Baikal is saturated with oxygen to a very high degree in comparison with other freshwater reservoirs.

Lake Baikal owes its purity to a small (1.5 mm long) crustacean called epishura. There are a lot of these crustaceans in the water of the lake. They clean the water and are food for the famous Baikal omul and predatory invertebrates.

The transparency of water in Baikal is also very high. IN good weather through the 40-meter water column you can see the bottom of the lake! In winter, Baikal also has surprisingly transparent ice. You just need to find a place that is not swept up by snow, and so to speak - feel like God - walk on the water. The water above is really frozen, but below it is the same picture - the bottom, fish, and you are walking above them.

Baikal is fed by the waters of more than 300 rivers, and only one river flows out of Baikal -.

Baikal ice

Lake Baikal does not freeze evenly in winter. Bays and bays, as well as the northern part of the lake freezes in November - December. And in the south, ice rises only in February, and if the winter is warm, then even at the end of February.

The thickness of the ice on Baikal by the end of winter reaches 1 m, and in the bays - 1.5–2 m. There is a phenomenon on Baikal that the locals call "stanovye cracks". This is when cracks appear in the ice in severe frost. They break the ice into separate large fields. The length of these cracks is amazing - from 10 to 30 km, and the width is only 2-3 m. As you understand, it is better not to be in such a place at the time of the break. Breaks occur every year and in approximately the same places of the lake. The sound effect is similar to gun shots.

Such gaps save the fish in the lake from lack of oxygen. Here is such a mysterious, but necessary natural mechanism for the lake. And due to the transparency of ice, sunlight penetrates through it, due to which planktonic algae that release oxygen in the water develop rapidly even in winter.

Another amazing phenomenon with ice on Baikal is ice hills. These are hollow cone-shaped ice hills that reach a height of 5-6 meters. In some of them you can find the "entrance", and it is usually located in the direction opposite to the shore. Such an ice tent turns out. Sometimes such tents stand alone, but often they are grouped, resembling mountain ranges, only in miniature.

Another mysterious phenomenon was discovered using space photography - dark rings.

The rings have a diameter of up to 7 km. Scientists came to the conclusion that the rings are formed due to the rise of water from the depths of the lake. Due to the temperature difference, a clockwise flow occurs, reaching different velocities in individual zones. As a result, the ice cover is destroyed, and the shape of the destroyed areas is ring-shaped.

Shores of Lake Baikal

The landscape of the coast is very diverse. The largest part is occupied by the taiga, in some places it is swampy. There are many hard-to-pass places where there are neither roads nor settlements. But there are many such areas that look quite hospitable, sand, pines, cedars, wild rosemary. But from the side of the Tazheran steppe, in the vicinity and on the island, the landscapes of the Baikal region are different - steppes, rocks with forests of Siberian larch.

The terrain on the coast of Lake Baikal is generally mountainous and the transport infrastructure suffers greatly because of this. Many places to travel by road transport from one locality, located on the coast, to another located, you need to make a big detour of tens of kilometers. A quarter of the coast of Lake Baikal has no public roads at all and is practically uninhabited (there are places for the Chinese to settle, I think they are happy).

Bottom relief

Lake Baikal is unique in terms of bottom topography. It has its own underwater mountain ranges, the largest of which are Akademichesky and Selenginsky. These ridges divide the lake into three basins.

Earthquakes are not excluded on Baikal. More precisely, this is a common thing. But tremors usually do not exceed 2 points. But there were other cases:

• in 1862, an earthquake of 10 points was recorded, as a result of which a land area in the northern part of the Selenga delta went under water
• there were points about 9 points in 1903, 1950, 1957 and 1959
• in 2008 - 9 points
• in 2010 - 6 points

Fauna and flora of Baikal

vegetable and animal world are unique here. The lake serves as a safe haven for almost three thousand species of animals and thousands of plants. Many species are found only here. And this despite the fact that, as scientists suggest, more than 20% of the living organisms living in the lake are still unknown to science. Fishing lovers will be fine on Baikal (if the bite goes, of course). Grayling, taimen, whitefish, sturgeon, omul, lenok, golomyanka are common. There are about sixty species in total.

The top of the biosphere on Lake Baikal is occupied by the Baikal seal. There are no other mammals in this reservoir. Until now, there are heated debates about how the Baikal seal, a purely marine mammal, got to Baikal and comfortably settled down here. It is assumed that she got here in the distant times of the Ice Age, moving from the Arctic Ocean along the Angara and Yenisei. Now tens of thousands of animals live here.

Many animals and birds also live along the shores of Lake Baikal. Here you will meet gulls, goldeneye, there are shelducks, mergansers, white-tailed eagles, and other birds. You can see the mass bathing of brown bears (just be careful!). Musk deer, the smallest deer on Earth, lives in the mountainous part of the Baikal taiga.

Where does the name Baikal come from?

Researchers are still arguing about the origin of the name of the lake. Several guesses:

• Bai-Kul - translated from Turkic means "rich lake";
• Baigal - from the Mongolian "rich fire";
• Baigal Dalai - in the same Mongolian means "big lake";
• Beihai - in Chinese means "North Sea";
• Baigal-Nuur - Buryat name;
• Lamu - this is what the Evenki called the lake.

It is believed that the first explorers, who appeared here in the seventeenth century, eventually adopted the Buryat name, but softened the letter “g”, giving the name the current sound.

Tourism and recreation on Lake Baikal

There are a lot of beautiful places on Baikal. On my site you will find many stories of our tourists about trips and holidays on Baikal (see the section "Stories"). A feature of tourism on Baikal is that the places you would like to see are often located at great distances from each other. So if you want to see not everything, but many of the beauties of Lake Baikal, you need to work out a competent route. If you feel that you can’t do it yourself, contact private guides or buy a comprehensive tour to Baikal.

In any case, you will not be able to see everything on Baikal at one time. Baikal is large, to go around it all you will need more than one vacation.

Most mass visit Baikal tourists going on course in summer. The most popular places are the village of Listvyanka, the Small Sea and Olkhon Island. People with a small budget, and even the most demanding, will find a place for themselves. Lake Baikal is visited not only by Russians, but by many tourists from all over the world. The latter, moreover, sometimes give fabulous money for such a vacation, but they still go.

In general, judging by the reviews, holidays on Lake Baikal are not among the cheapest, especially if you need to travel from other than nearby cities. Nevertheless, Baikal sets attendance records - the number of tourists is estimated at seven figures per year.

In summer, people relax on the beaches, visit bicycle and car tours, go to hiking along the coast. There are rafting on the rivers flowing into Baikal, and much more.

Climbing cliffs, mountains and descents into grottoes and caves are popular in all seasons.

Fishing

There are a lot of fish in Baikal and lovers find a variety of places in the hope of catching omul or other fish on their own. For the most gambling, there are specialized bases with different levels of comfort. Fishing is done on rented boats.

The most popular places for fishing on Baikal are Chivyrkuisky Bay, Mukhor Bay, shallow bays of the Small Sea and, of course, rivers flowing into the lake.

Lake Baikal in winter

Despite the harshness of the Siberian climate, there are people who like to come to Lake Baikal in winter. The fantastic ice world of Baikal is fascinating. Snowmobiling and dog sledding are popular.

Most Popular Attractions

Many historical and architectural sights, even more monuments of nature and culture are concentrated on Baikal.

One of the most famous attractions is shaman stone. This is a pair of boulders rising above the water at the source of the Angara. Locals have been worshiping these stones since time immemorial and consider them endowed with special powers.

Another rock, the photo of which is unusually distributed on the Internet at the request of "Baikal" and "Olkhon Island" - Rock Shamanka. Also a sacred place for the Buryats, access here for tourists was not always open.

Also on the island of Olkhon there are many other cult and historical sites. Olkhon is good because in the summer you can sunbathe there, swim, and visit a bunch of excursions or travel around the island on your own.

Holiday seasons on Baikal

Baikal is beautiful in all seasons. Summer, as well as throughout Russia, is the most popular season. The warmest from the second half of July to the beginning of August. Since November, it has become not very hospitable here, until the ice rises. In March and early April, tourists flock to Lake Baikal, especially those who like to take photos. The reason for this is the sparkling, transparent ice of Baikal. There is another one - ice fishing. In the spring, Baikal is also very beautiful, there are no more severe frosts and winds. lovers winter holiday find the combination of weather conditions and the beauty of landscapes very attractive.

Relax on Baikal, enjoy its nature and energy. Take care of Lake Baikal, do not leave dumps behind you, do not arrange logging. This lake is thousands of years old, and after many, many years, it needs to be as beautiful and attractive as it is now.

Baikal is one of the giant closed reservoirs on the planet. No lake can compare with it in depth. Baikal has a significant share of the world's fresh water reserves. Its flora and fauna are extremely diverse. Baikal water is remarkable for its amazing purity and transparency. The history of the study of the lake has been going on for more than three centuries, but there are still many mysteries related to its age and the reasons for its origin.

Geographic location

Baikal is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, on the border separating the territories of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The lake is located in a crescent-shaped hollow surrounded by rocks and hills. Its length is 620 km, the width varies from 24 to 79 km. East Coast less rocky and steep than the western one. The area of ​​the water surface is comparable to the territories of some European states. It is 31722 km 2. According to this indicator, Baikal ranks seventh on the planet. Only a few of the largest lakes in the American and African continents surpass it in terms of water surface area.

Depth

Baikal was the reason for its unique characteristics. Scientific studies confirm that this lake is the deepest in the world. It is worth taking into account that its water mirror is located at an altitude of 456 m above sea level. Hydrographic expeditions recorded and plotted on maps the maximum depth of the lake at 1642 m. Consequently, the bottom point, which is extremely remote from the surface, is located 1187 m below the level of the world ocean. This record figure allows Baikal to be included in the list of the deepest depressions on the planet. It can only be compared with Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa and the Caspian Sea, which is officially considered a closed body of water, since it does not have access to the oceans. Their depth exceeds 1000 m.

Water volume

The long history of Baikal exploration has brought many surprises. It has been proven that it has the largest reserves of lake fresh water in the world. Its volume is 23615 km3. This is about 20% of the world's reserves. Only the volume of the Caspian Sea exceeds this value, but the water in it is salty, unlike Baikal. The history of the emergence and development of special flora and fauna has made the lake a unique ecological system. The fresh water of Lake Baikal is distinguished by its rare purity. The lake is a world record holder not only in its quantity, but also in quality.

Water characteristics

The study of its flora and fauna occupies a special place in the history of Baikal. As it turned out, the water of the lake owes its unique purity to the local flora and fauna. All elements of the natural system are interconnected and influence each other. Baikal water is highly saturated with oxygen. It contains a negligible amount of dissolved minerals and organic impurities. Even pollution resulting from human activities does not lead to a significant deterioration in water quality. The development of industry and the tourism industry does not go unnoticed for the ecological state of the lake. However, in terms of its characteristics, the water remains close to the distillation product obtained in the laboratory. One of the reasons for its amazing purity lies in the vital activity of a microscopic crustacean. This representative of the fauna played an important role in the history of Baikal. The crustacean reproduces in huge numbers and absorbs organic matter, naturally purifying the water of the lake.

Origin hypotheses

The history of the origin of Baikal causes some controversy. The lake is located in a large depression that appeared at the site of a break in the earth's crust. The emergence of Baikal is due to tectonic causes. Some researchers put forward a version that the depression was formed as a result of the interaction of two continental plates - the Eurasian and Hindustan. Others argue that the lake is located in a transform fault zone. This type of rupture of the earth's crust occurs along the boundary of the lithospheric plate. In addition, there is a hypothesis that is poorly substantiated from a scientific point of view about the appearance of vacuum pockets due to the ejection of volcanic rock to the surface. According to this version, this caused the depression to subside.

The controversy continues. However, increased seismic activity in this region leaves no doubt about the tectonic nature of the reservoir.

Age

The opinions of scientists differ greatly about the duration of the history of Baikal. The traditional version claims that the lake has existed for over 25 million years. This hypothesis raises some doubts. Usually lakes remain in their original form for no more than 10-15 thousand years. After that, due to the accumulation of a significant amount of silt at the bottom, they turn into swamps. A natural question arises: why, despite many millions of years of history, Baikal did not suffer the same fate?

There is an alternative version, indirectly confirmed by some studies. According to her, the age of the lake is about 8 thousand years. Of interest is the huge discrepancy between traditional and alternative theories. At present, the question of the age of Baikal remains open.

Freezing

Even in summer, the water in the lake does not heat up above 10°C. The maximum temperature recorded throughout the history of observations is 23°C. In winter, the water mirror freezes almost completely. The thickness of the ice reaches 1 m, and in some places it can reach up to 2 m. winter period the fish in the lake do not suffer from lack of oxygen. Due to severe frosts, cracks several meters wide are formed in the ice. Their length is 10-30 km. Through the cracks, water is saturated with oxygen. This saves a lot of fish from dying. The period of complete freezing of the lake usually lasts from January to May. Passenger and cargo navigation starts in June and ends in September.

Flora and fauna

About half of the species of living organisms living in Baikal are not found anywhere else on the planet. This fact is explained by the isolation and antiquity of the ecological system of the lake. According to scientists, the Baikal fauna consists of 2600 species of animals. The reason for this diversity is the high concentration of oxygen in the water. This makes the lake a favorable habitat for all representatives of the animal world. The presence of a significant amount of oxygen persists even at great depths.

Of the fish living in the reservoir, the most famous is He has become in some way a symbol of the lake. The water column is inhabited by hundreds of species of flatworms, molluscs and crustaceans. At the bottom there are sponges that cover the stones with a continuous growth. They serve as a refuge for many living organisms.

Settlement

The history of the development of Lake Baikal began around the 2nd century BC. The first mention of the lake is contained in a Chinese manuscript of that era. According to archaeologists, 3 thousand years ago, the Baikal region was inhabited by Mongoloid tribes, the ancestors of modern Evenks. In the early Middle Ages, a nationality appeared on the territory of southern Siberia, which was called "guligan" in Chinese written sources. Its representatives were engaged in cattle breeding and agriculture, they knew how to smelt metals. In the 17th century, the formation of the Buryat people began from the Mongol-speaking tribes that migrated to southern Siberia from the west.

The Russian history of the discovery of Baikal is associated with the name of the Cossack Kurbat Ivanov. The expedition under his leadership reached the lake in 1643. The reports received by the tsarist government about the wealth of this region predetermined the further development of the history of Baikal. The lake was briefly described in 1665 by the famous archpriest Avvakum, who visited its shores on his way to exile.

Research

At the beginning of the 18th century, there were geographic Maps Baikal. By order of Peter I, a scientific expedition headed by physician Daniel Messerschmitt was sent to Siberia. It became the source of the first reliable information about the lake and its environs. The contribution to the study of Baikal was made by scientists who were part of the Great Northern Expedition led by They made a detailed description of the lake and collected extensive information about its flora and fauna.

The first hydrometeorological stations on Baikal were founded in the second half of the 19th century. Their task was to conduct continuous monitoring of fluctuations in the temperature of the surface of the lake and changes in the water level in it. In those years, the study of the bottom relief was also initiated.

Climate

In addition to many other unique features, Baikal is known for its unusual weather conditions. The rocky terrain and the presence of a giant body of water in the lake soften the East Siberian continental climate. The air temperature in the vicinity of Lake Baikal is stable. Summers in the coastal zone are on average cooler than in adjacent areas, and there are no severe frosts in winter. It is characterized by a long autumn and a late onset of spring.