Lake Baikal

E56001

Lake Baikal is a massive rift lake in Siberia renowned as the world's deepest and oldest freshwater lake, containing about one-fifth of the planet's unfrozen surface fresh water.

Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World Heritage Site
freshwater lake
natural heritage site
rift lake
age approximately 25 million years
averageDepth 744 meters
basinCountry Russia
climate continental climate
continent Asia
country Russia
culturalSignificance sacred site for local indigenous peoples
drainageBasinArea about 570,000 square kilometers
freezingPeriod typically freezes from January to May
hasEndemism high level of endemic species
hasIsland Olkhon Island
hasSpecies Baikal seal
omul whitefish
inflow Barguzin River
Selenga River
Snezhnaya River
Turka River
Tyya River NERFINISHED
Upper Angara River
knownFor being the deepest freshwater lake in the world
being the oldest freshwater lake in the world
containing about one-fifth of the world’s unfrozen surface fresh water
largestIsland Olkhon Island
length approximately 636 kilometers
locatedIn Irkutsk Oblast
Republic of Buryatia
Siberia
locatedOn Baikal Rift Zone
surface form: Baikal Rift
maximumDepth 1642 meters
outflow Angara River
partOf Baikal Rift Zone
protectedStatus UNESCO World Heritage Site
region Eastern Siberia
salinity very low
surfaceArea about 31,500 square kilometers
surfaceElevation about 455 meters above sea level
tectonicOrigin continental rift
threat climate change
industrial pollution
tourism major ecotourism destination
UNESCOInscriptionYear 1996
waterClarity very high transparency
waterType freshwater
waterVolume about 23,600 cubic kilometers
width up to about 79 kilometers

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

North Asia contains Lake Baikal
Siberia contains Lake Baikal
Russia hasLake Lake Baikal