Introduction
Situated in Southern Siberia, Lake Baikal is both the deepest lake in the world and the oldest lake in the world, estimated to be more than 25 million years old. As if that weren’t enough, it’s also the largest freshwater lake on the planet. But what about its size? How long is Lake Baikal exactly?
Dimensions of Lake Baikal
Measuring 636 kilometers in length, it’s often said that Lake Baikal is longer than Scotland, although technically only across the very widest northern and southern extremities is that true – with a width of 79 kilometers at its most narrow point. It appears stretched across the landscape, taking in vast swaths of the Russian wilderness, reaching a depth of 1,642 meters.
Shape of Lake Baikal
It’s worth noting that Lake Baikal has a very unusual shape – it looks more like a large Y or an S-shape, with the central part of the lake two straight arms and a curve loop at each of the extremities. As such, the length of the central direct line of Lake Baikal actually stands at a mere 438 kilometer, rather than 636.
Impacts on Lake Baikal’s size
The size of Lake Baikal is of course subject to seasonal, climatic and geological fluctuations. It all depends on snowfall, rain and the levels of the Angara and Selenga Rivers that feed the lake, as well as the evacuation of water through the Angara River.
For example, the lake’s total surface area covers an area of 31,722 square kilometers, however, its deepest point is subject to annual variation – shifting between 1,620 and 1,662 meters depending on the water level of the lake. It’s also said that Lake Baikal may have been much greater once, as melting glaziers from a past Great Ice Age would have caused levels of the lake to drastically rise – something the permafrost in the area indicates.
Environmental Concerns for Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is a great source of biodiversity and resident to some of the world’s most endangered species, however, the lake is at risk to a number of human activities local to the area. This means that the size of Lake Baikal is also at risk, largely due to industrial autopsies, deforestation and unregulated tourism.
Further environmental concerns include water pollution, caused largely by an increase in wastewater and the transportation of oil and gas via the lake, as well as an effects of climate change such as the melting of glaziers in the region. It’s abundantly clear that the size of Lake Baikal will be affected by the ongoing damage of human activities.
Historical Events on Lake Baikal
Throughout its history, Lake Baikal has been of significant importance to the various people who have lived by its shores, since the Paleolithic period. Civilizations and tribes changed, but the reported mythical qualities of the lake and its size remained in the region’s history.
In 1820, for example, a guest of the Nerchinsk School, Mueller wrote his observations of the lake, impressed with vast size and beauty. Interestingly, he suggested that the lake was the remains of a separate sea, an opinion that was later supported by mathmatian and geographer Alexander Kuzminsky and disputed by Pleistocene glazialist Sergei Obruchev.
Interesting Facts About Lake Baikal
It’s also befitting to note that Lake Baikal is littered with interesting facts and oddities. Besides its incredible size, it’s also said to be filled with drinkable, 24-filtered water, devoid of any impurities, and with no end to the fish that live within it, despite the cold temperatures. At 1,642 meters, it constitutes just under the 40% of the Earth’s liquid freshwater reserves, and, locally, Lake Baikal is called the ‘Sea’ by nearby locals.
Conclusion
To conclude, though its size is worthy of awe in itself, Lake Baikal truly is more than the sum of its parts. Embodied within its waters and vast forms is a long and diverse history, pollution risks and yet hopes, with its ongoing biodiversity being under threat. Lake Baikal captures many complex issues in one beautiful size.
