When walking on Lake Baikal in winter, you might feel like you are walking on air. The translucent ice covering all 31,722 square kilometers is a popular and beautiful mode of transportation, from walking trails to ice highways.
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The first humans to explore the bottom of Lake Baikal wasn't until 2008, and not much research has commenced since then. So, truthfully, we still don't know what lurks down there. Rest assured, though, that the lake is flourishing with extraordinary life.
Baikal is one of the few lakes on the planet in which, according to the standards, it is allowed to take water for drinking from open reservoirs. Water is extracted from special layers of the lake, which were on the surface of the lake hundreds of years ago, from a depth of 400m.
Each Epischura is no bigger than a poppyseed, but there are zillions floating through Baikal, which together form an incredibly efficient filtration system. They suck tiny scraps of food out of the lake, and along with them any specks of pollution they encounter. It's the Epischura that keep Baikal's water so pure.
Unique WildlifeAmong these interesting creatures are the Baikal omul fish, Baikal oil fish and most notably, the Baikal seal or nerpa as they are called in Russian. This is one of the only seal species to live entirely in fresh water.
While the Marianas Trench is the deepest place of the planet's oceans, Lake Baikal is the deepest of all the lakes in the world. Its depth is 1 642 meters (5 387 feet). Compared to Lake Baikal, the depth of the Great Lakes is more modest.
Baikal's age is estimated at 25–30 million years, making it the most ancient lake in geological history. It is unique among large, high-latitude lakes, as its sediments have not been scoured by overriding continental ice sheets.
Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve.