Baikal

Great, sacred, multifaceted and amazing, mighty and eternal – no matter how many epithets Baikal has received, not a single word is able to fully reflect the spirituality and admiration that arises from everyone who gets to the shore of the lake.

Baikal is a real Siberian sea with its own winds and currents. Sometimes it's menacing, crashing against the rocks with foam waves, sometimes it's quiet and peaceful, with crystal clear water. It holds one fifth of the world's freshwater reserves (comparable in this indicator to the reserves of all the Great Lakes of North America), and its entire area would accommodate Belgium or Armenia. It is no coincidence that Russians consider Lake Baikal to be one of the main symbols of our country.

The surface area is about 31,722 km2 (excluding islands). It is the largest freshwater reservoir in terms of volume.
The maximum depth is 1642 meters, the average is 744.4 m.
The length from north to south is 636 km.
The maximum width is 79.5 km.
The volume of water is 23,616.39 km3 (this is about 20% of the world's fresh surface water reserves).
The coastline is 2,000 km long.
According to the generally accepted version, the lake was formed 23-35 million years ago, in a tectonic depression and has remained in a surprisingly intact state to this day. For lakes of this type, the average age is only 15 million years. Then the water in them silts up and the lakes "die", turning into a swamp. Scientists call the epicurean crustacean living in the reservoir one of the reasons for the unique water of Lake Baikal. This endemic absorbs organic matter, which is already negligible in the lake. However, the crustacean itself is an important link in the food chain for other Baikal inhabitants.

From an ecological point of view, Lake Baikal is as amazing as from a geological point of view. It is fed by the waters of more than three hundred rivers and streams flowing throughout Eastern Siberia. However, the composition of its own water practically excludes the presence of organic matter, as well as various minerals. But the waters are filled with oxygen. This combination of properties causes the richest species diversity of the flora and fauna of Lake Baikal.

The lake is home to many endemics, ranging from the simplest crustaceans (epicura) and ending with mammals (Baikal seal). A golomyanka fish "floating" in the water lives here, it has a transparent body and is completely devoid of scales. Baikal omul, a valuable commercial fish that has also become a hallmark of the lake, is not averse to eating golomyanka. Previously, scientists considered it a subspecies of the Arctic whitefish, which entered the lake from the Arctic Ocean, but now they have found out that the lake fish is genetically closer to the herring whitefish, and they have classified it as a separate species.

Zoologists and ichthyologists from all over the world are attracted to the reservoir not only by the uniqueness of the species, but also by their diversity. For example, there are about 690 species of crustaceans alone, while 650 total are found in other lakes of Eurasia.

The flora of Lake Baikal is also rich. Majestic Siberian cedars and larches, which rise in a dense wall above its shores. "Walking" trees, whose roots protrude above ground level so much that they resemble the legs of a plant, are not found anywhere else in the northern latitudes.

Fragrant thyme and wild garlic fill the coastal slopes. The lake has such a strong effect on the vital activity of plants that even their properties change as they approach the shore. The flora of the Ushkany Islands is the most diverse. There are over two hundred local green inhabitants. The same number of algae species live in lake waters. At least three million tourists from all over the world annually come to the national parks and reserves of the Baikal region and Transbaikalia to admire the Siberian lake. The waters of Lake Baikal are also a wonderful place for diving, with visibility reaching tens of meters in good weather. Athletes dive both in winter and summer. Together with tourists and scientists, volunteers come to Lake Baikal, who organize ecological landings here, set up trails, and conduct explanatory work with vacationers. Despite the indisputable value of the lake for humanity and its special ecological status, visitors often leave behind dangerous garbage. And it's not just tourists who harm the ecosystem of the reservoir.

The reservoir is legally protected by the federal law "On Protection of Lake Baikal". It prohibits logging, biological pollution of the lake and its shores, and limits anthropogenic environmental impacts. But in fact, it turns out to be very difficult to protect such a large area from eco-crimes.

Today, Russia faces the task of preserving the purity and grandeur of Lake Baikal. Armed with the knowledge and experience of the planet's scientists, we must preserve the deepest lake on Earth, the habitat of several thousand representatives of the plant and animal world.

Lakes of various sizes and origins are scattered all over the world. The pearls of the same necklace, these natural freshwater reservoirs are constantly exposed to various kinds of impacts that disrupt the balance of unique ecosystems. There are hundreds of organizations that deal with environmental issues of water resources in one way or another. At the same time, an analysis of the activities of the most significant and influential foreign associations, foundations and associations shows that all these organizations solve problems that go far beyond environmental issues. That is why there is a need to join forces in the name of work aimed at preserving lakes and developing infrastructure, economy and culture in the lake regions.