Lake Baikal , called "the Siberian Sea" and "the Blue Eye of Siberia" is a tectonic lake located in Siberia, in the Buryat Republic in the Irkutsk circuit. The area around Lake Baikal is called Bybaikal. The area situated east of Lake Baikal is called Afretbaikal.
It is the oldest and the deepest lake in the world, the second lake in Asia, the seventh in the world. The deepest depth, 1637 meters, is located in the central part of the lake, nearby Olkhon island. The lowest point of the bottom of the Lake lies at 1183 meters below the sea level, and it is therefore the lowest cryptodepression in the world. The average depth of the lake is about 855 metres. The length of the lake is estimated at about 636 kilometres and its maximum width is about 80 kilometres. The total area of the lake covers 31,5 thousand square kilometres. Baikal is an extremely clean and clear lake, its water is transparent up to 40 metres. The shore line of Baikal is surrounded by numerous peninsulas, bays and lagoons. At Lake Baikal there is also Lake Olkhon - 716 square kilometres.
The world of Baikal's flora and fauna is truly unique, which deserves great respect of people for this place. Such a precious world of plants and animals has to simply last. The scientists in the region of Baikal observed 1085 species of animals and up to 80% of them can be found only in this area.
Lake Baikal is the most varied, when it comes to biological diversity, lake on the planet. In 1966 Lake Baikal with its surrounding areas was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
