The length of the Baikal coastline. General information about Baikal

>Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal

Baikal is the deepest lake (1642 meters) and the largest reservoir of fresh water on planet Earth (19 percent of the world's reserves). The length of the lake is 630 km (almost the same distance as from Moscow to St. Petersburg), the maximum width of Baikal is about 80 km.

Where is Lake Baikal on the map of Russia

Lake Baikal on the map should be looked for a little above the border of Russia and Mongolia

Baikal is located in Eastern Siberia on the border of two constituent entities of the Russian Federation: the Irkutsk region (western coast) and the Republic of Buryatia (eastern coast).

How to get to Baikal

You can get to Lake Baikal by train along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow or from any other city located on this railway line, getting off the platform in Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude. Also, regular flights from all Russian cities fly to these cities, however, it is cheaper and easier to fly to Irkutsk. Planes depart to Ulan-Ude much less frequently.

On the West coast, the main tourist bases are located in Listvyanka and on the island of Olkhon (the village of Khuzhir), and on the East Coast, the stronghold of all travel is Ust-Barguzin and Gremyachinsk.

From Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude to Baikal itself can be reached by minibus train, train, bus. From Irkutsk in the season (June-August) can be reached by water. In a straight line from Irkutsk to Baikal 70 km.

The easiest way to get to Listvyanka is the travel time is about an hour, it takes 4-5 hours to get to the tourist centers on the Small Sea from Irkutsk, the same amount to Olkhon plus a ferry crossing (15 minutes and a queue).

From Ulan-Ude to Gremyachinsk 1.5 hours, to Ust-Barguzin 4-5 hours.

Attractions of Baikal

Baikal, first of all, is famous for its natural attractions, and mainly beach, hiking and sanatorium tourism is developed here, although there are several museums and historical sites in the vicinity of the lake.
Swimming in Baikal is best from mid-July to mid-August, sometimes until early September, the lake warms up for a long time, but it also cools down for a long time. For a beach holiday, you should choose the bays and bays of Lake Baikal, they are the warmest. But one must understand that the water warms up to 17-18 degrees, the maximum recorded warming of water in the coastal waters of Lake Baikal is 23 degrees. The warmest water on the Buryat coast is in the Barguzinsky Bay and Chivyrkuisky.

Settlement of Listvyanka

The village of Listvyanka is the most developed and convenient Baikal resort, here is the Baikal Limnological Museum with aquariums, which represent the living flora and fauna of the lake, a small zoo, the Plamenevsky Gallery, which exhibits paintings by young artists, and a park of unusual metal sculptures.

Also from the village you can get to the famous Shaman-Stone (a place of worship for shamans), the Memorial Stone of Vampilov (installed near the place of his death), the astrophysical Baikal laboratory and to the source of the Angara. Also near Listvyanka you can climb one of the most beautiful observation platforms - the Chersky Stone.

Circular Baikal Railway

From the city of Slyudyanka on the Trans-Siberian, where you can visit the museum of Baikal gems, to the port of Baikal there is the famous Circular Baikal Railway - a miracle of engineering.

On the way, in the rocks along the very shore of the lake, a train passes, which will be interesting to ride. The train makes numerous stops during which you can take photos. As you can see on the diagram, the Circum-Baikal Railway does not make a circle along the coast of Lake Baikal, but is currently a dead end line of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Detailed schedule and prices can be found on the website.

Olkhon Island and the Small Sea

Practically, the entire coast of Lake Baikal is nature reserves and national parks with special conditions for staying on their territory. The most famous of them is the Pribaikalsky National Park, which also includes the heart of Lake Baikal - Olkhon Island with good beaches and mysterious "Mongolian buildings" (ancient megaliths) and the most popular ethnographic museum in the region in the village of Khuzhir.

The coast of the Small Sea Strait between Olkhon and the coast of Lake Baikal is also part of the Pribaikalsky National Park. Here are some of the most comfortable conditions for a beach holiday on the lake. Especially in this regard, the Kurkut Bay stands out, where you can ride a banana and try yourself in paragliding. You will also have a good rest in Sandy Bay, famous for its unusual natural monument - walking pines.

Cape Ryty

Esoteric lovers should visit Cape Ryty in the Baikal-Lena Reserve, where there is a shamanic place of power with a mysterious wall 333 meters long and pyramids oriented strictly to the cardinal points.

Buryat part of Baikal

Chivyrkuisky Bay

The Zabaikalsky National Park on the Buryat part of Baikal is famous for the Chivyrkuisky Bay and the Svyatoy Nos Peninsula, one of the best places for camping on the lake, as well as the largest rookery of the Baikal seal on the Ushkany Islands and a massive concentration of birds on Lake Arangatui.

You can have a good rest on the coast of the Barguzinsky Bay. It is worth staying in the village of Maksimikha in the picturesque hotel Lukomorye, located on the very shore of Lake Baikal.

Thermal springs of Baikal

Baikal is widely known for its thermal springs. The camp site on Cape Kotelnikovsky, not far from Severobaikalsk, is especially popular with guests of the lake, where water from the source is mixed with water from the lake in special pools. You can’t drink this water, but baths from it are extremely useful. Unfortunately, the base can only be reached by water in summer and ice in winter.

Other popular balneological resorts: Nilova Pustyn, Arshan and the Source of Inexhaustible Hope are located at a distance from the southern coast of Lake Baikal in the Tunkinsky National Park.

On the Buryat side of Lake Baikal is the Barguzinsky Reserve (the oldest reserve in Russia created before the revolution) there are also hot springs, but it is not easy to get to the reserve only by water to the village of Dovsha.

It should be noted that every year the rest on Baikal becomes more comfortable. Previously, a bathroom in the room and hot water were a rarity. Now almost all popular places can boast of hotels and bases with amenities in the rooms, Wi-Fi.

But there are still many camp sites with minimal amenities and low prices. So everyone can find accommodation on Lake Baikal to their liking.

In the south of Eastern Siberia, where the Irkutsk region borders on Buryatia, there is one of the seven wonders of the world - the largest and deepest fresh water body in the world - Lake Baikal. The locals used to call it the sea, because the opposite shore is often out of sight. This is the largest fresh water reservoir on the planet with an area of ​​​​more than 31 thousand km², which would completely fit the Netherlands and Belgium, and the maximum depth of Baikal is 1642 m.

Lake-record holder

The crescent-shaped reservoir has a record length of 620 km, and the width in different places varies between 24-79 km. The lake lies in a basin of tectonic origin, so its relief bottom is very deep - 1176 m below the level of the World Ocean, and the water surface rises 456 m above it. The average depth is 745 m. The bottom is extremely picturesque - various banks, in other words, ancient shallows, terraces, caves, reefs and canyons, plumes, ridges and plains. It consists of a wide variety of natural materials, including limestone and marble.

Above is the depth of Lake Baikal, according to this indicator, it is in first place on the planet. The African Tanganyika (1470 m) ranks second, and the Caspian (1025 m) closes the top three. The depth of other reservoirs is less than 1000 m. Baikal is a reservoir of fresh water, it is 20% of the world's reserves and 90% of Russia's. The tonnage of its mass is greater than in the entire system of the five Great Lakes of the United States - Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario and Superior. But the largest lake in Europe is still considered not Baikal (it is in 7th place in the world ranking), but Ladoga, which occupies 17,100 km². Some people are trying to compare the famous fresh water bodies in Russia and are wondering which lake is deeper - Baikal or Ladoga, although there is nothing to think about, since the average depth of Ladoga is only 50 m.

An interesting fact: Baikal takes in 336 large and small rivers, and releases only one from its embrace - the beautiful Angara.

In winter, the lake freezes to a depth of about a meter, and many tourists come to admire an exceptional sight - a transparent ice “floor”, under which blue and green water pierced by the sun splashes. The upper layers of ice are transformed into intricate shapes and blocks, carved by winds, currents and weather.

The famous Baikal water

Lake water was deified by the ancient tribes, they were treated with it and idolized. It has been proven that Baikal water has unique properties - it is saturated with oxygen and practically distilled, and due to the presence of various microorganisms, it is devoid of minerals. It is famous for its exceptional transparency, especially in spring, when stones lying at a depth of 40 meters are visible from the surface. But in summer, during the “blooming” period, the transparency decreases to 10. The waters of Lake Baikal are changeable: they shimmer from deep blue to rich green, these are the smallest forms of life that develop and give the reservoir new shades.

Baikal depth indicators

In 1960, researchers measured the depth near Capes Izhemey and Khara-Khushun with a cable lot and documented the deepest place of Baikal - 1620 m. Two decades later, in 1983, the expedition of A. Sulimanov and L. Kolotilo corrected the indicators in this area and recorded new data - the deepest point was at a depth of 1642 m. Even 20 years later, in 2002, an international expedition under the auspices of a joint project of Russia, Spain and Belgium worked on creating a modern bathymetric map of Baikal and confirmed the latest measurements using acoustic sounding of the bottom .

The unique reservoir has always attracted the increased attention of scientists and researchers, who equipped more and more new expeditions in order to clarify the previous depth measurements in different parts of the reservoir. So, in 2008-2010, the MIR expeditions organized about 200 dives throughout the entire water area of ​​this fresh sea. They were attended by prominent politicians and businessmen, journalists, sportsmen and hydronauts from the countries of Western and Eastern Europe and Russia.

Where are the deepest places of Baikal

Since the bottom of the reservoir is dotted with faults, the depth of the lake in different parts of the water area differs:

• near the western shores lie the deepest breaks in the earth's crust;
• in the southern part, the record depth of the depression between the mouths of the rivers Pereemnaya and Mishikhi was recorded at 1432 m;
• in the north, the deepest place is located between capes Elokhin and Pokoiniki - 890 m;
• depressions in the Small Sea - up to 259 m, their location at the Big Olkhon Gates;
• The greatest depth of Baikal in the region of the Barguzinsky Bay reaches 1284 m, this point is located on the southern coast of the Svyatoi Nos peninsula.

Video: an interesting film about Lake Baikal

The unique ecosystem attracts scientists and researchers from different countries. Thousands of tourists go to the deepest lake in the world to enjoy the magnificence of landscapes, landscapes that you will not find anywhere else. The boundless diversity of flora and fauna of the region, among which are mostly endemics (found only here), complements the wealth that nature has given to people.

Posted Sun, 12/10/2014 - 08:27 by Cap

What boy from the days of a vagabond childhood does not dream of visiting this Glorious Sea! From school geography lessons, we all knew that fate did not offend our Motherland, giving Lake Baikal!!!

And so, the old dream of the Nomads came true - after the walking and water part.) - We spent 4 days on the shores of the legendary Baikal, approximately between the villages of Slyudyanka and Listvyanka.

I will repeat myself a little and tell you about our journey along the shores of the blessed Baikal!

We spent the night in the camp of the Ministry of Emergency Situations on the shore of Lake Baikal in Slyudyanka.

From Slyudyanka, we went along the Circum-Baikal Railway - the Trans-Siberian Railway used to pass along the Circum-Baikal Railway, but then the branch from Irkutsk was straightened, and brought straight to Slyudyanka. And the Circum-Baikal Railway is now a tourist single-track! We recommend everyone to ride it!

Sergey Karpeev
The miracle of Russia and the glorious sea!
There is no limit to your shores!
The wind rejoices in the boundless expanse,
Rumors are ascending the islands.

The waves caress the careless stones,
Dormant for centuries forgotten volcano.
In a haze ethereal forest ridges
It stretches with a chain of Khamar-Daban.

Rocks, backwaters, taiga distances,
The hills rest on a cedar slope.
The ancient Buryat sanctuary beckons
Marvelous, mysterious island of Olkhon.

Whether storms, wind, bucket, bad weather -
What does the shaman portend to us with a tambourine:
In a frenzied dance, magic under the power
The spirit that everyone calls Burkhan.

Pink-delicate sunset blush
Clouds drown in your mirrors.
Melting, blue, evening mist
Hidden on the other side of the shore.

Water, like crystal, is deep and transparent.
The fisherman throws his net.
Yar-lightning, burning fiery,
Pulls a crimson boundary in the sky.

The night begins full of stars:
The ladle sparkled with its seven stars.
With heart and sight exalted
Shout: Our Baikal is beautiful and great!

Train around Baikal

The train runs on it 4 times a week, and also back. Wonderful views of Lake Baikal and the surrounding mountains open from the windows of the carriages!

It is advisable to arrive at the station an hour before the train, but we did not do this. There were no train tickets anymore - I had to go to the cars, where you can negotiate with the conductors in order to ride the train while standing.

The train itself consists of several comfortable carriages, where everything is finished for foreign tourists, and there are also TVs showing films about Baikal, well, and minibars with drinks!

For ordinary tourists, there are other wagons, ordinary Soviet ones, but we were very happy with them, since the price in steep wagons was more than 700 rubles. per person, and in a simple car we agreed on the same price, but for the whole Team!

Moreover, we managed to successfully navigate the train - so almost everyone got seats! The car was packed almost to capacity! In the crowd, no one began to figure out who had what places, and we rolled along Baikal!

However, I did not have to sit for long, after Kultyk the train stopped near the Roerich Museum. There was also a museum of Pure Water! Viewing cost literally 10 rubles! We looked at the pictures with interest and listened to the lecture!

The train was going quite slowly, the road was old, but very interesting, in addition to the views of the lake, the train passed through a whole system of tunnels that pierced mountain ranges, and then again took us to the steep and picturesque shore of the sacred Lake!

A couple of times the train made stops so that passengers could get out of the cars and take a picture on its shore!

At the same time, Baikal souvenirs were sold, as a rule, from local gems.

Lake Baikal

On the way, we met a woman and got into a conversation with her - she was going to visit one stop. She advised us to go with her, because there is a very beautiful place! In my opinion, it was the 146th km., There were several houses there. There was a ravine in this place - a stream flowed from the mountains, there were houses, sheds and gardens. Mostly pensioners lived. Lake Baikal

The place was really worth it! From here a picturesque view of Baikal opened, 500 meters from the stop there was a good tourist stop with a fire pit and a table, and also an excellent view of the Lake. The descent to the water was quite steep, you had to either go down a steep slope along a wire (which someone pulled) or bypass through the lower parking lot.

But the main thing is real natural silence, even though there was a railway nearby, but the trains ran here once a day, and only the splash of waves and the cries of seagulls are heard!

Lake Baikal- sunset

LAKE BAIKAL - THE MIRACLE OF RUSSIA

Baikal. A lake of amazing beauty, a unique creation of nature, crystal clear water... Probably every person has heard more or less about the deepest lake on our planet. What else do you know about Baikal?
Baikal is located almost in the very center of Eurasia, among the high ridges of the Baikal mountain region. The lake is 636 km long and 80 km wide. In terms of area, Baikal is 31,470 km2, which is comparable to the area of ​​Belgium (almost 10 million people live in this European country with large cities and industrial centers). The maximum depth of the lake - 1637 km - rightfully allows calling Baikal the deepest in the world (average depth - 730 m). The African Lake Tanganyika, one of the deepest lakes on the planet, “lags behind” Baikal by 200 m. Of the thirty islands, Olkhon is the largest.

Baikal is filled with three hundred and thirty six permanent rivers and streams. One flows out of the lake. To estimate the volume of Baikal, imagine that under ideal conditions (assuming that not a single drop from the surface will fall or evaporate), the Angara, which takes out 60.9 km3 of water annually, will need 387 years of continuous operation to drain the lake!

In addition, Baikal is the oldest lake on our planet; according to various estimates, its age is 20-30 million years.
Clean, transparent Baikal water, saturated with oxygen, has long been considered healing. Due to the activity of living microorganisms living in it, the water is slightly mineralized (almost distilled), which explains its crystal transparency. In spring, water transparency reaches 40 meters!
Baikal is a repository of 20% of the world and 90% of Russia's fresh water reserves. For comparison, this is more than the water reserves in the five Great American Lakes combined! The Baikal ecosystem provides about 60 km3 of clean water per year.

The flora and fauna of Baikal is amazing and diverse, which makes it unique in this respect among other freshwater lakes. Who has not heard of the famous Baikal omul? In addition to it, whitefish, lenok, taimen are found in the lake - representatives of the salmon family. Sturgeon, grayling, pike, carp, catfish, cod, perch - this is not the whole list of fish families living in Baikal. It is impossible not to mention the Baikal seal, which is the only representative of mammals in the lake. In autumn, numerous haulouts of these Baikal seals can be seen on rocky shores. Nerpa is not the only inhabitant of the coasts, a lot of gulls, mergansers, goldeneyes, turpans, shelducks, white-tailed eagles, ospreys and other birds nest along the coasts and on the islands. In addition to all of the above, on Baikal one can observe a massive exit to the shores of brown bears.
The flora and fauna of Lake Baikal is endemic. 848 animal species (15%) and 133 plant species (15%) are not found in any water body of the Earth.
The uniqueness and beauty of Baikal every year attracts an increasing number of tourists, including foreign ones. This is also facilitated by the developing infrastructure. Therefore, the main task is to preserve the integrity of the lake ecosystem. Lake Baikal

BAIKAL - THE MIRACLE OF RUSSIA
A narrow blue sickle, thrown into the mountains of Eastern Siberia, looks on the geographical map of one of the amazing wonders not only of Russia, but of the entire globe - Lake Baikal.
Many songs and legends were composed about him by the people. The Yakuts called the lake Baikal, which means "rich lake". It splashes in a huge stone basin surrounded by mountain ranges overgrown with taiga. The lake stretches from northeast to southwest for 636 km, which is approximately equal to the distance between Moscow and St. Petersburg. The largest width of Baikal is 79 km. In terms of its area (31.5 thousand sq. km), it is approximately the same as the Western European countries of Belgium or the Netherlands, and ranks eighth in size among the lakes of the globe.
Baikal is a truly unique lake. Its coast and surrounding mountains with unique fauna, flora and microclimate, as well as the lake itself with rich reserves of clean fresh water, are an invaluable gift of nature.
Of course, you know that Baikal is the deepest lake on our planet. Its depth reaches 1620 m and exceeds the depth of some seas of the globe. However, as reported in 1991, hydrologists made a correction, finding a deeper mark at 1657 m.
It contains 20% of the fresh water reserves on the globe (23 thousand cubic km). To desalinate the same amount of moisture from sea water would have cost 25 times more than the cost of gold mined up to that time on Earth.
Imagine: all the water of the Baltic Sea can fit in the Baikal bowl, although its area is approximately 10 times larger than the area of ​​the lake.
Water from 92 seas such as the Sea of ​​Azov or water from all five American Great Lakes, the total area of ​​which is 8 times larger than the area of ​​Baikal, can be poured into the Baikal basin.
According to the latest information, 1123 rivers carry their waters here, the largest of which are Barguzin, Upper Angara, and flows out.
The level of the lake rises above the mouth of the Angara by 378 m, which creates a large fall energy. A cascade of powerful power plants has been built here. There are 27 islands on the lake, all of them are small. Only Olkhon, which is located almost in the middle of the lake, has an area of ​​729 sq. km.

Olkhon Island Lake Baikal

Such a high-water reservoir cannot but influence the climate of the surrounding area. In summer, Baikal tempers the heat, and in winter - severe Siberian frosts. Therefore, the climate here is milder than in neighboring areas. For example, Peschanaya Bay is the only area in Eastern Siberia where the average annual air temperature is about 0 degrees C (more precisely, +0.4 degrees C). Baikal freezes only in January. However, even in the heat, the water is not more than +12 gr.S.
Since the difference between air temperatures and atmospheric pressure above the surface of the lake and in the surrounding mountains is very large, storms often play out on Baikal. There are more sunny days a year here, for example, than in some resort areas of the Black Sea region.
There is no lake on the globe, the water in which is more transparent than Baikal. The white disc, lowered here to determine the transparency of the water, is visible from a depth of about 40 m.
In addition, the lake water is very pleasant to the taste. "Those who have ever taken a sip of Baikal water," Siberians say, "will definitely come back for another sip."

Baikal is the oldest lake on Earth. Its basin began to form 25-30 million years ago. The age of modern outlines is over a million years. The origin and structure of the bottom of the lake, as well as the processes that take place there, have recently been studied by scientists with the help of the Pisis deep-sea apparatus. Unique photographs of the bottom of Lake Baikal were taken at a depth of 1410 m. The enhanced seismicity of the basin and the associated change in the shoreline of the lake were proved.
It has been established that annually the shores of the lake move apart by an average of approximately 2 cm, and its area increases by 3 hectares.
Earthquakes, and they sometimes happen here up to 2000 a year, are mostly small. There are also quite tangible ones, such as, for example, in 1862, when part of the coast fell through and a bay was formed, called the Failure. And during the earthquake of 1958, the bottom of the lake near Olkhon Island sank by 20 m.
The active life of the bowels is also evidenced by the presence on the shores of the lake and in the mountains adjacent to it, numerous hot springs with temperatures from +30 degrees. up to + 90 gr.С. And at the same time, the age of the rocks of the mountainous area around Baikal is approximately 2 billion years.

And Lake Baikal

One of the amazing features of the lake is its truly unique wildlife. It has more than 1500 species, and 75% of them live only on Baikal. There are more fish here alone than in some seas - 49 species, and almost all the indigenous "Baikals", for example, the famous omul. "There is no Baikal without omul" - such is the local saying. Very interesting is the viviparous golomyanka fish. She is so fat that she is washed ashore by a storm, almost completely melts under the sun's rays. Its fat contains many medicinal organic compounds and vitamins, which is why it is also called "medical fish".
Of the other species of the Baikal fauna, there are 80 crustaceans alone, among which the crustacean epishura is very valuable for the ecology of the lake. Small in size (the mass of a thousand crustaceans is only 1 mg), this baby, getting food, tirelessly works for the benefit of the lake. It filters water through a special organ, purifying it from various bacteria and algae. During the year, these microscopic "orderlies" manage to filter about 1500 cubic meters several times. km of water to a depth of 5-10 m, which is 10 times more than it enters the lake from all rivers, and the annual flow of the lake through the Angara is only 60 cubic meters. km. It is thanks to the tireless activity of the crustacean epishura that the unusual purity of Baikal waters is maintained.
Many berries, mushrooms, flowers and herbs grow in the coastal taiga forests. The decoration of the animal world is the famous Barguzin sable.
Unfortunately, due to the development of industry in Siberia, including in the areas adjacent to Baikal, the construction of a number of large enterprises in the woodworking, wood-chemical and other industries, as well as non-ferrous metallurgy, often with gross violations of the ecological situation, a deadly threat loomed over the unique lake. To save Lake Baikal from pollution is an urgent task of our time.

GEOGRAPHY OF LAKE BAIKAL
Baikal (bur. Baigal dalai, Baigal nuur) is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the deepest lake on the planet, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water.
The lake and coastal areas are distinguished by a unique variety of flora and fauna, most of the animal species are endemic. Locals and many in Russia traditionally call Baikal the sea.
Baikal is located in the center of the Asian continent on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia in the Russian Federation. The lake stretches from northeast to southwest for 620 km in the form of a giant crescent. The width of Lake Baikal ranges from 24 to 79 km. The bottom of Lake Baikal is 1167 meters below the level of the World Ocean, and the mirror of its waters is 455.5 meters higher.
The water surface area of ​​Lake Baikal is 31,722 km² (excluding islands), which is approximately equal to the area of ​​countries such as Belgium or the Netherlands. In terms of the area of ​​the water surface, Baikal ranks sixth among the largest lakes in the world.
The length of the coastline is 2100 km.
The lake is located in a kind of basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. At the same time, the western coast is rocky and steep, the relief of the eastern coast is more gentle (in some places the mountains recede from the coast for tens of kilometers).
Baikal is the deepest lake on Earth. The modern value of the maximum depth of the lake - 1642 m - was established in 1983 by L. G. Kolotilo and A. I. Sulimov during the hydrographic work of the expedition of the GUNiO MO USSR at a point with coordinates 53 ° 14′59 ″ n. sh. 108°05′11″ E d. (G) (O).

The tributaries and runoff of Baikal
According to studies of the 19th century, 336 rivers and streams flowed into Baikal, this number took into account only constant tributaries. There are no more recent data on this issue, however, sometimes figures of 544 or 1123 are given (which are given as a result of counting ravines, and not permanent watercourses). It is also believed that due to anthropogenic impact and climate change on Baikal from the 19th century to the present time, about 150 watercourses could disappear.
The largest of Baikal's tributaries are the Upper Angara, Barguzin, Turka, Snezhnaya, and Sarma. It flows out of the lake. There are 336 permanent streams in total. Lake Baikal

ICE OF LAKE BAIKAL
During the freeze-up period (January 9-May 4 on average), Baikal freezes entirely, except for a small area 15-20 km long, located at the source of the Angara. The shipping period for passenger and cargo ships is usually open from June to September; research vessels begin navigation after the ice breaks up the lake and complete it with the freezing of Lake Baikal, that is, from May to January.
By the end of winter, the thickness of the ice on Baikal reaches 1 m, and in the bays - 1.5–2 m. In severe frosts, cracks, locally called "stanovo cracks", break the ice into separate fields. The length of such fissures is 10–30 km, and the width is 2–3 m. The ruptures occur annually in approximately the same regions of the lake. They are accompanied by a loud crack, reminiscent of thunder or cannon shots. It seems to a person standing on the ice that the ice cover is bursting just under his feet and he will now fall into the abyss [source not specified 539 days]. Thanks to cracks in the ice, fish in the lake do not die from lack of oxygen. Baikal ice is also very transparent, and the sun's rays penetrate through it, so planktonic algae, which release oxygen, flourish in the water. Along the shores of Lake Baikal, one can observe ice grottoes and splashes in winter.
Baikal ice presents scientists with many mysteries. So, in the 1940s, specialists from the Baikal Limnological Station discovered unusual forms of ice cover, typical only for Lake Baikal. For example, “hills” are cone-shaped ice hills up to 6 m high, hollow inside. In appearance, they resemble ice tents, “open” in the opposite direction from the coast. Hills can be located separately, and sometimes form miniature "mountain ranges". Also on Baikal there are several more types of ice: “sokuy”, “kolobovnik”, “autumn”.
In addition, in the spring of 2009, satellite images of different parts of Lake Baikal were distributed on the Internet, on which dark rings were found. According to scientists, these rings arise due to the rise of deep waters and an increase in the temperature of the surface layer of water in the central part of the ring structure. As a result of this process, an anticyclonic (clockwise) current is formed. In the zone where the current reaches maximum speeds, the vertical water exchange intensifies, which leads to accelerated destruction of the ice cover.

Oltrek Island, Small Sea, Baikal

Islands and peninsulas
There are 27 islands on Baikal (Ushkany Islands, Olkhon Island, Yarki Island and others). The largest of them is Olkhon (71 km long and 12 km wide, located almost in the center of the lake near its western coast, the area is 729 km², according to other sources - 700 km²). The largest peninsula is Svyatoy Nos.

seismic activity
The Baikal region (the so-called Baikal rift zone) belongs to areas with high seismicity: earthquakes regularly occur here, the strength of most of which is one or two points on the MSK-64 intensity scale. However, there are also strong ones; So, in 1862, during a ten-point Kudarinsky earthquake in the northern part of the Selenga delta, a land area of ​​​​200 km² with 6 uluses, in which 1300 people lived, went under water, and Proval Bay was formed. Strong earthquakes were also recorded in 1903 (Baikal), 1950 (Mondinskoe), 1957 (Muiskoe), 1959 (Middle Baikal). The epicenter of the Middle Baikal earthquake was located at the bottom of Lake Baikal near the village of Sukhaya (southeast coast). His strength reached 9 points. In Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk, the strength of the main shock reached 5-6 points, cracks and minor damage were observed in buildings and structures. The last strong earthquakes on Baikal occurred in August 2008 (9 points) and in February 2010 (6.1 points).

map of Lake Baikal

Origin of the lake
The origin of Baikal still causes scientific controversy. Scientists traditionally determine the age of the lake at 25-35 million years. This fact also makes Baikal a unique natural object, since most lakes, especially those of glacial origin, live on average 10-15 thousand years, and then they are filled with silty sediments and swamp.
However, there is also a version about the youth of Lake Baikal, put forward by Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences A. V. Tatarinov in 2009, which received indirect confirmation during the second stage of the expedition "Worlds" to Baikal. In particular, the activity of mud volcanoes at the bottom of Lake Baikal allows scientists to assume that the modern coastline of the lake is only 8 thousand years old, and the deep-water part is 150 thousand years old.

What is certain is that the lake is located in a rift basin and is similar in structure, for example, to the Dead Sea basin. Some researchers explain the formation of Baikal by its location in the zone of a transform fault, others suggest the presence of a mantle plume under Baikal, and others explain the formation of the basin by passive rifting as a result of the collision of the Eurasian plate and Hindustan. Be that as it may, the transformation of Baikal continues to this day - earthquakes constantly occur in the vicinity of the lake. There are suggestions that the subsidence of the basin is associated with the formation of vacuum chambers due to the outpouring of basalts on the surface (Quaternary period).

Grottoes of Borg-Dagan, Olkhon Island

Flora and fauna
About 2,600 species and subspecies of aquatic animals live in Baikal, more than half of which are endemic, that is, they live only in this reservoir. These include about 1000 endemic species, 96 genera, 11 endemic families and subfamilies. 27 species of Baikal fish are found nowhere else. Such an abundance of living organisms is explained by the high oxygen content in the entire thickness of the Baikal water. 100% endemism is observed among nematodes of the Mermitidae family (28 species), Polychaeta worms (4 species), Lubomirskiidae sponges (14), Gregarinea gregarines, Isopoda isopods (5), Plecoptera stoneflies. Almost all species and subspecies of amphipods (349 out of 350, 99%) and scorpion fish (31 out of 32, 96%) are endemic to the lake. 90% of turbellarian worms (130 out of 150) and barnacles (132 out of 150) are endemic. Many fish are endemic to Baikal: 36 out of 61 species and subspecies (59%), 2 families (13.3%) and 12 genera (37.5%).
One of the endemics, the crustacean epishura, makes up to 80% of the zooplankton biomass of the lake and is the most important link in the food chain of the reservoir. It performs the function of a filter: it passes water through itself, purifying it.
Baikal oligochaetes, 84.5% of which are endemic, make up to 70-90% of the zoobenthos biomass and play an important role in the processes of self-purification of the lake and as a food base for benthophagous fish and predatory invertebrates. They are involved in soil aeration and mineralization of organic matter.
The most interesting in Baikal is the viviparous golomyanka fish, whose body contains up to 30% fat. It surprises biologists with daily feeding migrations from the depths to shallow waters. Of the fish in Baikal, there are Baikal omul, grayling, whitefish, Baikal sturgeon (Acipenser baeri baicalensis), burbot, taimen, pike and others. Baikal is unique among lakes in that freshwater sponges grow here at great depths.

The origin of the toponym "Baikal
The origin of the name of the lake is not exactly established. Below are the most common versions of the origin of the toponym "Baikal":
From the name of the nationality and the country of bayyrku (bayegu, bayirku, bayurku)
From the Buryat bai - "stand" and gal "fire" (according to legend, Baikal was formed on the site of a fire-breathing mountain)
From Buryat "mighty standing water"
From the Buryat baikhaa "natural, natural, natural, existing"
From Buryat "rich fire"]
From the Yakut baai "rich" and kyul "lake"]
From the Yakut baikhal, baigal "sea", "big, deep water"]
From the Arabic Bahr-al-Baq "a sea that gives birth to many tears", "a sea of ​​\u200b\u200bterror"
From the Buryat "Baigaal-dalai", "a vast, large body of water, like the sea", where dalai also means "boundless, universal, supreme, supreme."
From the Yukagir vaiguol "fin: forest washed ashore by water"
The first Russian explorers of Siberia used the Evenki name "Lamu" (sea). From the second half of the 17th century, Russians switched to the name adopted by the Buryats - Bur. Baigal. At the same time, they adapted it to their language, replacing the “g” characteristic of the Buryats with the more familiar “k” for the Russian language, as a result of which the modern name was finally formed.

Neutrino telescope
A unique deep-sea neutrino telescope NT200, built in 1993-1998, was created and operates on the lake, with the help of which high-energy neutrinos are detected. Since 2010, the construction of the NT1000 neutrino telescope with an effective volume of 1 km3 has been underway, the construction of which is expected to be completed no earlier than 2017.

"Worlds" on Baikal
In the summer of 2008, the Foundation for Assistance to the Preservation of Lake Baikal carried out a research expedition "Worlds on Baikal". 52 deep-sea manned submersibles "Mir" were immersed to the bottom of Lake Baikal.
Scientists delivered samples of water, soil and microorganisms taken from the bottom of Lake Baikal to the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The expedition continued in 2009 and 2010.

Lake Baikal, Cape Khoboy

Tourists on Baikal
There are many ways to get to Baikal. As a rule, those who wish to visit it first go to one of the nearest large cities: Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude or Severobaikalsk, in order to plan their route in more detail from there. Driving along the Trans-Siberian Railway between Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude, you can admire the views of the lake for hours, stretching right outside the train window.
70 km from Irkutsk, on the shore of Lake Baikal near the source of the Angara, the village of Listvyanka is located - one of the most popular tourist destinations on Lake Baikal. You can get here from the regional center by bus or boat in just over an hour. Rest in Listvyanka is valued because of the huge number of excursions and outdoor activities, it is here that most cruises on the sea-lake originate. The most popular routes run from the village to Bolshiye Koty, to the Svyatoi Nos peninsula, Olkhon Island and other places.
Also on the shores of Lake Baikal are the cities of Slyudyanka and Baikalsk. Slyudyanka has a railway station built entirely of marble. In Baikalsk there is a ski slope, in the summer there is a ski lift; in sunny weather you can see the opposite side of the lake with the spurs of the Baikal ridge.
On the eastern shore, Barguzinsky Bay is especially popular, next to which the construction of the tourist and recreational zone "Baikal Harbor" continues. In the village of Maksimikha, you can take a tour with a visit to the Holy Nose peninsula. Horse riding and hiking available. To the south are the settlements of Novy Enkhaluk, Zarechye, Sukhaya. Here, private individuals organized the reception of guests, including in yurts, comfortable rest houses appeared. Between Enkhaluk and Sukha there is a hydrogen sulfide thermal spring Zagza.
, which is rich in picturesque bays, mysterious islands, healing springs. A good view of the bay opens from the tops of Svyatoy Nos, which can be reached from the village of Ust-Barguzin.

Thirty kilometers south of the mouth of the Selenga River is Posolsky Sor Bay, where two tourist camps have settled - Kultushnaya and Baikal surf. Many camp sites provide tourist services there.
Almost in the very north of the lake there is a Khakusy resort, which can only be reached by boat from the village of Nizhneangarsk or the city of Severobaikalsk or in winter on ice.
The Great Baikal Trail passes through various sections around the lake - a system of ecological trails and one of the most beautiful ways for tourists to see the unique nature and enjoy the breathtaking views and panoramas of Lake Baikal.

Attractions
On Baikal and around it there are many monuments of nature, culture, as well as historical and archaeological sites. Listed below are just a few of them.
Northern Baikal
Rock Shaman-stone

Barguzinsky Bay
Ushkany Islands
Sandy Bay
Cape Skala Shamanka on Olkhon Island
Cape Ludar
Cape Ryty
Chersky Peak - 2090 m above sea level
Circum-Baikal Railway
Frolikha (tract)

Baikal port

Interesting Facts
If all the water contained in Baikal (23,615.390 km³) is divided into all Russian citizens (141,927,297 people), then each will have about 166.4 thousand cubic meters of water, which is approximately 2,773 railway tanks of 60 tons each.
According to the well-known explorer of the lake, Ph.D. L. G. Kolotilo "Price of Baikal", the utilitarian cost of water in the lake is 236 trillion dollars. His article aroused a certain interest, including from Greenpeace Russia, and its main provisions were announced on November 27, 2012 (without reference to the author) in an interview with V. V. Zhirinovsky on the Vesti 24 TV channel.

Myths and legends about Baikal
There is a legend that the father of Baikal had 336 rivers-sons and they all flowed into his father in order to replenish his waters, but now his daughter fell in love with the Yenisei River and began to carry her father's waters to her beloved. In response, Father Baikal threw a huge piece of rock at his daughter and cursed her. This rock, called the Shaman-stone, is located at the source of the Angara and is considered its beginning.
In another variation of the legend, it is said that Baikal had an only daughter, Angara. She fell in love with the Yenisei and decided to run away to him. Baikal, having learned about this, tried to block her path by throwing a Shaman-stone to the source, but Angara ran further, then Baikal sent his nephew Irkut after her in pursuit, but he took pity on Angara and turned off the path. The Angara met the Yenisei and flowed further along with it.

Big Kyltygey (Shaggy) Island

Circum-Baikal hiking trail
Tourist information
Plot 1: pos. Kultuk - Art. Marituy - Baikal port, 84 km, 22 hours net time, average speed - 4 km/h.
There is no such place on Baikal anymore - there are no slopes on it, and from the very beginning, the 156th kilometer to the port and Baikal station at the 73rd kilometer, the traveler theoretically does not rise a single meter. It was about this section that the Irkutsk citizen P. Taymenev said in his travel notes "A Few Words about the Siberian Railway", published in the journal "Nature" and people in St. Petersburg in 1890: "In our deep, unshakable conviction, the Siberian Railway is an indestructible monument culture of the 19th century, this is a manifestation of Russian national greatness, this is the fulfillment of the moral duty of contemporaries in the face of future generations, this is one of the best pages of modern Russian history, this is an entry on the threshold of the twentieth century.
Surprisingly, the tourist boom on this section of the Circum-Baikal Railway began only after its "discoveries" by a number of newspaper publications in the Irkutsk regional newspapers in the seventies. This is partly due to the development of rock climbing on the shores of Lake Baikal. Previously, this was the most exotic section of the Trans-Siberian only for passengers of trains, especially those traveling to the east, for whom at the Baikal station the sacred lake suddenly and immediately plowed open, in all its gigantic beauty and power. Still, it is still unlikely to be seen anywhere not only here, but also abroad: on the one hand, rearing aquamarine waves of the surf literally lick the wagon wheels, on the opposite side, no matter how hard you try, you will not see the top of the vocal cliff from the window. And the train now and then dived into the darkness of endless tunnels, at short stops at numerous half-stations there was a brisk trade in no less exotic omul "with a smell".

The builder, who came here in 1899 along the Angara valley, met with extraordinary technical difficulties. The Olkha Plateau breaks off into a lake like a wall throughout the entire area, the shore has largely retained its tectonic relief. Composed of very strong crystalline rocks - granites, gneisses, crystalline schists - it has undergone relatively little change over millions of years, is slightly indented in configuration and has practically no deep and convenient bays for receiving and laying ships. Nevertheless, severe climatic conditions, which contribute to intensive processes of physical weathering, high seismic activity favor the development of rock falls and screes.
That is why the line had to be laid on shelves carved into the rocky slopes, sometimes with stone cladding of upland slopes to a great height. Often this required such a significant amount of work that it was more profitable to lay the route on embankments using high retaining walls, sometimes on bridges across bays and valleys, and most often these structures had to be erected in combination. Often the construction of a tunnel was the only way out (the route was created from two ends). They were built under two tracks at once, using natural stone cladding, and today the circular vaults of tunnel portals with keystones, on which the dates of construction are forever inscribed, amaze with the thoroughness of the finish and beauty, merged in harmony with the surrounding wildlife. A lot of trouble was caused by the passage of rockfalls - the roadbed was then protected by reinforced concrete or stone luggage galleries. The destructive work of the waves was also taken into account - breakwaters, wave-breaking walls repeat the outlines of the coast for almost the entire length.

Ust-Anga Bay, Lake Baikal

Sometimes not only in one place - in one section! - I had to build up to ten structures. There is just such a place in front of the Marituy station: the watercourse had to be drawn over the structures and taken to Baikal, but it was not easy to do this on a cliff. And today, when you approach this puzzle, brilliantly embodied in stone and concrete from an engineering point of view, from the side of the port of Baikal, you trace the path of the stream with involuntary admiration: high above, where not only to place building structures, materials and mechanisms - it seems there is nowhere to stand - he was sent to a concrete rapid, then he fell into a stone water-cutting well, from where, behind the tunnel portal, he was enclosed in a flume rapid, then placed in a canal, and since there were high retaining and then wave-breaking walls on the way, he had to be led over them in cantilever reinforced concrete spillway.
Weekend hikes are a great future for the Circum-Baikal Road. In the meantime, good transport links make it accessible mainly to residents of the cities of Shelekhov, Irkutsk, Angarsk, Usolye-Sibirsky, as well as Cheremkhov and Sayansk. If you use Friday evening for the entrance, then in two days you can make both short trips starting from the stations and stopping points of the pass area (Rassokha, Orlyonok, Taiga, Podkamennaya, Pereezd, Andrianovskaya, Angasolka, etc.), and crossings with the crossing of Olkhinsky plateau and coastline. In winter, ski trips are reduced to a very popular one-day "family" route from Moving along the valley of the Bolshaya Krutaya Guba River to the stopping point Temnaya Pad or to the city of Slyudyanka with the crossing of Lake Baikal in its southern part. The tradition of the people of Irkutsk firmly includes one-day throws-transitions (cross-country and skiing on ice) from the source of the Angara to Slyudyanka (to the Staraya Angasolka half-station) at a distance of 70-80 km.

So, no matter what type of tourism we choose, the task before us in the weekend hike is the same - the need to cover the site in two days. It is desirable to start in the port of Baikal. It is connected with Irkutsk by numerous means of communication (motor ships, hydrofoils, buses to Listvenichny), and it is convenient to leave Kultuk for Irkutsk by train in the evening (stopping point "Zemlyanichny"). It remains to be added that a water trip provides an excellent opportunity to look at the panorama of coastal structures from an unusual angle. Particularly impressive are the magnificent arched bridges across the rivers Shumilikha, Bolshaya Polovinnaya, Marituy, Bolshaya Krutaya Guba, Angasolka, reminiscent of Roman aqueducts with their outlines. As for the organization of bivouacs, here, almost at any time, you can organize "both a table and a house" - there are many convenient sites within the subgrade. You can also count on the truly Siberian hospitality of the local population at numerous posts and villages, which, by the way, have repeatedly had to use. On a hiking trip, this will eliminate the need to carry a tent and bedding with you for two nights. Apparently, the mass interests should also be taken into account by the administration and build huts and shelters.

It is worth a little delay in the port of Baikal, the final point of the route, marked with a kilometer column "73" (for the Circum-Baikal Road, the previous mileage starting from Irkutsk has been preserved). It was from here that the construction attack on the rock "fortifications" of Baikal unfolded in 1898, here the famous ferry crossing across Baikal began, which had no equal in the whole world and which was designed to ensure uninterrupted train communication throughout the Trans-Siberian Railway to Vladivostok during the construction of the route to Kultuk. For this purpose, two icebreakers were ordered and assembled in Listvenichny in England; for the transportation of assets - "Baikal" and passengers - "Angara".
In terms of size, the icebreaker-ferry "Baikal" was considered the second in the world: its length is 100 m and a width of 16 m, the crew consisted of 200 people. On three railway tracks there were 27 two-axle wagons with cargo and a steam locomotive. Three main steam engines and 20 auxiliary served two stern and a special bow propellers, he covered the distance from Baikal station to Mysovaya station in 4.5 hours in 4.5 hours and was able to break ice of a meter thickness. In the five years of operation of the ferry crossing, only once, in the severe frosts of January 1904, the icebreaker could not cope with its duties. I had to build an ice railway. The wagons were moved along it by horses, which were mobilized together with the owners from the villages of Transbaikalia and the Irkutsk province. "Baikal" died in a civil war at a combat post, "Angara" has survived to this day: by the decision of the Irkutsk regional committee of the Komsomol, it was proposed to create a museum of military and revolutionary glory on it.

Cape Small Kolokolny, Baikal

Monuments of nature
Belaya Vyemka is a remarkable geological monument of nature, the object of excursions of the 27th International Geological Congress, located at 105 km. It is simply impossible to pass by it without noticing it: especially on a sunny day, its slopes blind with powerful radiance, the marble bottom is not immediately lost in the blue of the depths. For the convenience of study and inspection, all exploration cuts and wells are numbered with red paint, but in recent years, mineralogy lovers have become more and more familiar with it due to the presence of numerous crystals of precious spinel, a solid mineral, reaching a length of several centimeters. It is located on 104 km of the Circum-Baikal section of the East-Sib. railway The outcrop of marbles with a rare combination of rocks and minerals in the coastal part of the lake, the venue for the excursions of the International Geological Year (IGY), monuments of all-Russian significance.
Bird Market - this is how it was decided to name this zoological monument of nature, the only nesting place of the herring gull on a steep 300-meter cliff in the southern half of the lake, located at 133 km. For local residents, the arrival of gulls on it in May is a sure sign that Baikal will soon disperse (that is, the ice will melt on it). From a boat or kayak it is clearly visible from May to August how the entire cliff, from the water's edge to the wooded top, is dotted with white columns of birds, their hubbub deafens at a great distance. And naturally, during the period of nesting and growing up of chicks, the colony should not be disturbed by visits. Located in the area of ​​st. Sharyzhalgay of the Circum-Baikal section (133 km) East-Sib. and. e. A place of constant mass nesting of the herring gull, the only place in southern Baikal where nests are located on the coastal walls.

In recent years, due to the limitation of shooting, flocks of seals often appear along the coast. And although this is a sure sign that everything is fine with the composition of the water, and the factor of concern is small, one should not delude himself with this (the mass death of animals in 1987 leads to disappointing thoughts).
On February 25, 1985, among 26 natural objects, by the decision of the Irkutsk Regional Executive Committee, the source of the Angara River, the only watercourse that drains all the water entering Baikal, was approved as a natural monument.
The source of the Angara is a natural monument of republican significance. The width of the river here reaches a kilometer, and it is here, at the exit from the lake, that there is a kind of ledge in the form of a rocky threshold, above which the average water depth is only 3.5 m and the water speed is 12 - 15 km / h. The relatively warm bottom waters of Lake Baikal, entering the threshold, do not allow the surface of the source to freeze in winter. At the same time, the source is a kind of wind pipe that serves as a place of invasion of the lake by cold north-western air currents, while in the opposite direction, the cooled air of the Baikal basin flows through it. This climatic feature of the source noticeably restrains the development of phenological phenomena here. However, it is included in the section "Zoological monuments of nature", and this was made possible by the only mass permanent wintering of lamella-billed birds in all of North Asia, numbering annually 8-12 thousand waterfowl. On a huge polynya, stretching for 3 - 5 km and existing due to the high speed and constant positive temperature of the water, mergansers and ducks predominate, dippers constantly hibernate. Severe winters can significantly reduce the size of the polynya (the winter of 1983), but only once in 200 years has its short-term complete freezing been canceled. The rarest in number in the north-east of Asia, the wintering of lamellar-beaked, climatic features that are different from the environment at all times of the year. All-Russian significance.
According to scientists, the wintering of waterfowl is as historically ancient as the presence of a polynya at the source, and the peculiar behavior of birds wintering here suggests that a special ecological group winters here, which has long adapted to extreme living conditions (it has been established, for example, that ducks spend the night in hummocky ice). That is why the scientific interest in this wintering is exceptional.

Output of marbles in the port of Baikal. Located in the port of Baikal, on the cliff of the Olkhinsky plateau. Outcrops of marbles in the most ancient Precambrian complexes of the world aged 3.4-3.7 billion years. The object of excursions of international and all-Union geological forums.

Krutogub outcrop. Located in the mouth of the river. Big Steep Guba on the Olkhinsky Plateau. Petrographic and mineralogical object.

Shaman stone - a tiny rocky island at the head of the Angara, a geomorphological monument of nature, the top of a rocky rapid, poetic Buryat legend is firmly connected with the hero Baikal and his beautiful daughter Angara. Located at the source of the river. Hangars. The only protrusion of the Angara threshold protruding above the water is known from a colorful Buryat legend. It is also connected with the unrealized project of the fast filling of the Bratsk reservoir, which could have fatal consequences for the fauna of the lake. It was developed by MOSGIDEP and provided for the device at the source of the Angara, in its channel, a channel up to 9 km long, up to 100 m wide at the top and 11 m useful depth, for which a massive explosion was calculated for ejection using 30 thousand tons of TNT. An explosion that was supposed to lift 7 million cubic meters into the air. m of soil, it was proposed to be implemented in 1960 in order to reduce the time for filling the Bratsk reservoir from four years to a minimum, to obtain additional energy in the amount of 32 billion kWh. The implementation of the calculated project could lower the level of Lake Baikal to 11 m, but even lowering it by 3-5 m would cause a widespread reshaping of the coast, a change in the normal living conditions of fish, ports, timber transshipment bases, and the railway would suffer. In view of the fact that it was difficult to foresee all the possible consequences of this project, which was bold in engineering terms, but apparently adventurous in design, it was rejected.

And here is what I got for the first section - from Kultuk to the source of the Angara, carefully summing up the data scattered over the pages of diary entries: streams - 41, rivers and streams - 13, river - 1 (Big Half), total - 55.
Conclusions: the site of the village. Kultuk - the port of Baikal is not so much a ready-made segment of the Baikal trail, easily accessible due to developed transport communications, but a real tourist "way", a highway with extremely grateful natural features and a rare technical history. A lot of work still needs to be done to make the Circum-Baikalskaya the road of millions, but so much has already been done by man that it is mainly up to the reserve, the owner, who would turn this fertile corner into a paradise for tourists. And urgently it would be necessary to deal with providing tourists with firewood, because due to the lack of dead wood and a small amount of driftwood on the shore, in places of an intensive influx of tourists and vacationers, threatening conditions are created for the forest, especially in the area that is most overloaded from the mouth of the Bolshaya Krutaya Guba to Kultuk. It came to the point that from the village of Angasolka to Kultuk, all the picket and kilometer posts disappeared.

Cape Svyatoy Nos, Zmeevaya Bay

LEGENDS AND LEGENDS OF LAKE BAIKAL
The emergence of Khamar-Daban
How the Sayans arose, I have already told you. Such mountains as the Sayans were not created by a small force, from that force, probably, the whole earth trembled. Yes, a small force would never have created them. Then, probably, it was like this: that force broke out from the Earth, and it accumulated, maybe for millions of years, threw everything out at once, and the Sayans are ready. When the Sayans cooled down, there were still a lot of forces left in the Earth, they dispersed in different directions and began to lift the earth above them with jerks along the entire road. But this was no longer the force that worked on the Sayans. This is how, in small shocks, the underground force came from the Sayans closer to sunrise and raised the earth on its way. The one where the push was stronger, there the mountains rose higher, where it was smaller, there the saddle remained.
In a word, the mountains from the Sayans to the east began to look like a humpbacked nose, for which the Buryats called them "Khamar-Daban". Many years later, when Khamar-Daban arose, a lot of earth was blown on it from the plain. The mountains were not high, so they were covered with earth. All the cracks that came out of the shocks when the earth rose uphill were covered with earth from the valleys.
The sun did not burn the earth very much on Khamar-Daban, and soon it was covered with forest. Then animals and birds divorced in the forest, people migrated there, closer to the mountains, they began to live and live and make good.

Bezymyannaya Bay, Baikal

About how Baikal happened
Old people used to tell about how Baikal happened. There is not much land on earth. Everyone knows that if you dig a hole a few sazhens, or even less, different sand, clay, stone and other different rocks will immediately come out. The deeper you dig a hole, the less earth, more and more stone goes, and different soil, which is not visible on the ground. And further, in the very depths of the earth, only stones go, and even further water. A different stone lies in the ground. There is also one on which you drop water - it begins to boil and fall apart. There is a lot of such stone in the depths of the earth, much more than on the surface. This is what happened a thousand years ago: water and stone met deep in the earth. As they converged, they boiled. Where should the couple go? He climbed in different directions and moved the earth from its place, and it went in a wave and, more than that, shook the whole earth. So the earth seethed in the depths, seethed, and then water and steam escaped upward, and the water covered the low places. She could not go further, there were mountains all around, and so Baikal turned out. It never subsides, because water always props it up from under the ground, and that water, they say, lives with the Arctic Ocean in its relatives. Previously, old people often simply told: they would break a boat on Baikal, and they found boards in the Arctic, or what would sink in the Arctic - floated up on Baikal.

How Olkhon Island was formed
Not everything is true that is said in legends. There used to be talk that, they say, everything was created by God, as the scripture says. Who believed that, and who did not believe. Most of all, people did not believe those fairy tales. The priests were angry at this, cursed with an anathema, but what's the point: a curse is not smoke, it won't eat your eyes. Let's take our Olkhon, it's called an island. Where did he come from? God would not have had enough strength to lower him from the sky. It means that he did not fall from the sky, but from nature itself.
When Baikal appeared, all the places here were flooded with water and there was not a single island. A million years have passed, the water has settled, fish have begun to be found in Baikal, the forests have rustled around - in a word, real life has begun here. After that, strong winds began to blow on Baikal, so strong that the whole Baikal boiled from them, as if in a cauldron. The waves reached the very bottom, from where all the stone and sand were driven to the shore. But the waves did not catch up with the stones to the very shore, they caught on the underwater rock. The waves worked for many years, everyone drove and drove stone and sand to the sakla. And so, at that rock, a whole mountain was washed up, large, wide and long. Other waves washed away that mountain and gradually made it level. From this, the island of Olkhon came from. Old people say that Olkhon is higher for years, and sometimes lower for years. This is from what is on the rock. When the rocks are washed away, the island sinks a little, and when a lot of water is supported under the rocks, it rises a little. At first they thought that some kind of unclean force was working here, and then they themselves were convinced that it all depended on the wind. So believe the priests that the island was created by God. Why didn't he create it in the middle of Lake Baikal, where there is no rock? That's why the priests are silent, and the holy scripture does not say about it. That everything was created by God in a week is said by those who do not want to think, or that dope is beneficial to them.

Failure at Baikal
There was a failure at Baikal under my father. He often reminded me of him, and from him our whole village knew how and what went there. Not only is it scary to talk about failure, but it’s also very painful to remember. Many in those days of failure of people remained crippled for life: some had their legs, their arms broken, some had lost their minds, and some, out of grief, when they were left naked and did not get out of bitter need, the poor fellow left for the next world.
Where was the poor man to go at that time? There is nothing to live, lie down and die. When all this happened, faith in God was lost. Looks like he is weak before the force of nature. Those who used to say that everything is done by God's will have ceased to believe in it. It became clear to us, ordinary peasants, that not by the power of God's mountains, rivers, lakes, seas and oceans were created, but by the will of nature, which conceals tremendous power in itself, and as long as a person is weak, she will do with him whatever she wants.
Salvation is in the will of God when you yourself do not know what to do, and when you do not know what is going on around you. After the Baikal failure, all the old people began to say that Baikal itself happened in the same way as this failure. This means that the grandfathers also correctly conveyed that from the fiery and water columns between the mountains, the water flooded the padi, and in that place the sea-Baikal became. The people now firmly believe this truth.

Peschanaya Bay, Cape Maly Kolokolny

Why did Barguzin flow in the other direction
My grandfather was the first to settle in the village of Tolstikhino, when there were only three houses in Barguzin itself. My grandfather lived here for about eighty years, my father lived for about a hundred years, but I have been living here for ninety-four years. In a word, our entire clan has been living here for a long time. We all knew how to speak Buryat and Tungus. It passed from grandfather to father, and from him to me. From the Buryats and Tunguses they heard how our Barguzin River used to flow, from their childhood I took over and I will tell you what I remember.
Previously, it was a very long time ago, the Barguzin River did not flow to Baikal, but from Baikal to the Arctic Ocean, and then it turned back and began to run to where it came from. It was not done by God, it was the will of the earth. It happened like this: Baikal stood, stood, there were high mountains around it, nowhere on Earth are there higher than them, and between these mountains water kept accumulating and accumulating. In the mountains, ice and snow melted, it rained, all this flowed into Baikal. A lot of water rose in it, it covered half of the mountains, and there was nowhere else for it to go, and the mountain rivers all poured and poured their water into the sea. And then one day one mountain could not stand it, burst. Water broke through and flowed through it to Baikal. She washed away the whole taiga, made a flat place from mountain to mountain and reached the very Arctic Ocean. Then in Baikal there was a lot of water, the river flowed wide and deep, and when it became smaller, it began to gather into a narrow channel. Water flowed, flowed along the river and flooded the entire coast near the ocean, there were great colds, and ice mountains began to grow from that water. At first, water broke through them, because there was a lot of it in Baikal, and having got rid of it, the water lost its strength. After many years, the icy mountains prevented the water from Baikal from going straight to the ocean. The frozen ice began to approach Baikal closer and closer. The river became shorter every year and washed out its top. In the end, she so washed out her valley, through which she flowed in the first years, that the valley rose above Baikal. Water stopped running from Baikal to it, and at that time other rivers from the mountains and bald mountains began to run into the old channel. There was nowhere for that water to go, the river turned back and went to Baikal. When the water went to the ocean, a lot of silt was applied to the valley, the entire forest at the bottom of the river rotted. The river became narrow, the banks became wide. Now, where the Barguzin River goes, the whole place is called a valley, and there is no richer region than this valley. When the Tungus and Barguts came to the valley, the river was already running to Baikal, instead of the former wide river, a narrow one flowed, along which the hunters descended to the sea. The valley managed to overgrow with taiga, animals and birds bred, and it became more beautiful than before the appearance of the river. because then the Buryats and Russians came to these places, and my grandfather settled here.
They also lived here in a bar, for example, Karlych (M.K. Küchelbecker) was very fond of such stories, he took them from me on paper. I just don't know if they went into books. He wrote a lot here and under Muravyov went around all the villages. It is a pity that I lived an illiterate life, otherwise I even read his books before my death. In God, he did not believe very much and did not hope for the king, he was more with our peasants here, and thanks to him for that - he treated him for ailments. It was fitting for him to tell such stories about antiquity, and he did not tell us that we were sinners before God.

Primorsky ridge

From the history of the development of the Barguzin valley
What our Russian peasant couldn't bear, what he just didn't experience. My grandfather came here, my father lived here. I remember them, I myself have been living here for more than a hundred years. If we calculate how much we, the Elshins, have walked here, how many mountains we have crossed, then, probably, it would be possible to walk around the globe during this time, and from the forest that our ancestors uprooted, it would be possible to build a second Moscow.
When my grandfather came here, there was a continuous taiga, there were only small circles of land under the arable fields, and now, look, there are such fields all around that you can’t cover with an eye. Because the land is dear to us here, because it smells of the sweat of our ancestors, watered with their blood and tears.

Barguzinsky Bay, Baikal

Where did the name "Baikal" come from?
Russians have long heard that somewhere in the middle of Siberia there is a huge lake. But no one knew what it was called. When the Russian merchants, and then the Cossacks crossed the Urals and began to approach the large rivers Ob and Yenisei, they learned that people live around the lake, which boils day and night. Those Russians found out that that lake is rich in fish, and various animals walk along the shores, and such expensive ones that are nowhere else in the world. The Cossacks and merchants began to rush to that sea-lake, they walked, did not sleep, did not feed the horses, did not know when the day ends and when the night begins. Everyone wanted to be the first to get to the lake and see what it is like and why it boils without rest.

Those merchants and Cossacks walked to the sea for a long time, several years, many of them died along the way, but the living nevertheless reached and saw the Shaman stone in front of them. He blocked their way, closed the light. You can’t turn away from it either to the right or to the left, there are such mountains around that you throw your head back - the hat flies off, but you can’t see the top. Cossacks with merchants twirled around the Shaman-stone and thought that they couldn’t get to the sea, but they themselves heard how it rustled, heaved up and beat against the rocks.
The merchants grieved, the Cossacks grieved, you see, their whole long road was lost not for a pinch of snuff. They drove back, pitched the tent and began to think hard about how they could cross the Shaman-stone or go around the mountains. They cannot go around the mountains - the sea will swallow them. So the Cossacks stopped with the merchants and began to live near the sea-lake, but they would not get ashore in any way.
They had to live here for a long time, maybe their bones would have rotted there, but then, fortunately for them, an unknown person approached them and called himself a Buryat. The Russians began to ask him to lead them ashore, circle the sea and show them the way to land where they had not yet been. The Buryat did not say anything to them, he folded his palms into a tube, then raised them to his face and went into the forest. The Russians did not detain him, they released him with God. Again, the merchants and Cossacks were saddened, how to proceed, not to escape, apparently, their death. So they lived for a long time, you never know, no one counted days or months. The merchants and the Cossacks grew emaciated and haggard; worse than before, grief seized them. They wanted to gather their last strength and go back, but then the Buryat came again and brought his son, he said:
- I can’t get around Baigal with you - I’ve become old, I can’t go around the Shaman Stone - the years have long gone, take your son, his eyes are bright, and his legs are deer.
The old man left for the taiga, and the son led the Russians on a new road, brought them to the seashore and said:
- Baigal.
The Russians asked him what it was, he answered them:
- In our opinion, it means a fiery place, here there used to be a continuous fire, then the earth collapsed and became the sea. Since then we have been calling our sea Baigal.
The Russians liked this name, and they also began to call this sea Baikal.

Ushkany Islands

Who can know when that was? Well, no one seems to remember. Many years have passed since then, during this time mountains have grown on the plains, deep lakes have spilled on the lowlands, a forest has grown on stones. At that time, Baikal stood calmly, so quietly that the water did not move like a mirror, the smooth surface shone from coast to coast. Sometimes only early in the morning, at dawn, the fish splashed. But Baikal is not angry about that, he loves different living creatures and, like a father, gives her food.

How long did Baikal live in silence and bliss, only he knows about that. And suddenly, unexpectedly, a terrible storm fell on Baikal. Baikal has never seen such a storm before. The water of Baikal was covered with terrible bubbles; Old Baikal got angry at the storm and said:
“Don’t anger me, you can’t defeat the old man, you can’t disperse my bright water around, you can’t drain my home.
And the storm did not want to listen to the old man. Know walks for himself and walks along the crests of the waves, which have already risen from the height of the rocks.
“You can’t cope with my strength, old man,” says the storm, “I raise the seas and oceans, bring down the taiga, wriggle the everlasting forest, destroy rocks, and I’ll splash you like a puddle, drain you like a drop.
After such impudent words, Baikal became furious. Evil gives strength. Baikal straightened his mighty shoulders, he remembered his sons and daughters, gained strength in his heroic chest and let's fight the storm. Rock after rock he began to erect around himself, mountains began to rise behind the rocks. The storm sees that jokes are bad with the old man and it’s not so easy to defeat him, she called on the winds of Kultuk and Barguzin to help herself. The strength of the storm immediately increased. Then Baikal went to the trick and began to block the path of the storm away from the coast. From the bottom, rocks began to rise, so many of them rose above the water that they began to obscure the sun. The storm hits the rocks with all its force and rolls back, it is already weak coming to the shore.
This is how the rocks appeared in Baikal in spite of the storms, to the delight of the shores they protect. Well, since the rocks appeared, then they were covered with sand and silt. From year to year, the rocks overgrown and grew so much that they turned into islands. This is one island and was nicknamed Ushkanim. Why was it named like that? I will tell you about this now. This island was more successful than others, and a forest soon appeared on it: a pine forest, a birch forest, a listvyanka, an aspen forest, and there is no name for the shrub. So many berries will be born here that it will be enough to cook berry jelly for all the Baikal water. The island is also rich in wild rosemary and flowers. In autumn on the island, the aroma takes your breath away.

The island has its own climate, its own weather, and there is nowhere else like it around Baikal. When autumn is around, everything withers and freezes everywhere, everything blooms on the island, wherever the eye can see, everywhere is green: the berries ripen, the wild rosemary blooms a second time, blossoms. Ushkans saw about such an island - it means, in Siberian, hares - and they threw a herd onto the island. What are the shorts for, and when necessary, they swim and get on the island. There were so many ushkans that there was nowhere to step.
But after all, a person does not sleep, he is also cunning. He found out that nature is rich on the island, and made his way to it. People were amazed at how many Ushkans live here. So they called the island Ushkanim. Then the Ushkans also divorced on small islands, which stand next to the large ones. Now these small islands are also called Ushkany.
Many years ago, our grandfathers and great-grandfathers wanted to settle in these Ushkany Islands, but they did not fit in: winter and summer fit here at the wrong time, as around Baikal. The peasants wanted to set up a household, but there was not enough urine, and there was no need for that.
From time immemorial, people have been protecting the Ushkany Islands, and the hunters themselves preserve the living creatures there. The old people told how a long time ago several thieves came to the island to harass Ushkans. The hunters among themselves agreed to hire an old man to keep all living things on the island. The old man lived on the island for more than a hundred years, thieved all the thieves, punished his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren: "Just as a fox does not hunt near its hole, so you take care of all living things around you. Without nature, a person is naked, and you cannot live naked for a long time."

Suvo
The old people who said how the name of the village Suvo came from, which is not far from Barguzin. One elderly Tungus explained the name in his own way. The Tungus in the upper reaches of the Barguzin do not live forever. Long before them, various peoples roamed here, but no one remembers them. Those distant peoples left the Barguzin Valley in that old time, when the Chuds first began to come here, and then the Tungus began to migrate, the Orochons and Barguts. After them, the Russians began to appear. But that was quite recently, about three hundred years ago.
The Tungus gave the name to rivers, mountains and places most of all here, because there were more of them here than other peoples. There are many stories about the name of the village of Suwo, but the most true of them is this. Once upon a time, many Tungus lived near Lake Kotokel. They lived around the lake, fished, beat animals, and so lived for years. The Tungus were very prolific in those years, because the cold was strong, and they love the cold. When the warming began, then they began to die out, clan after clan completely descended from the earth. Heat, after all, multiplies any infection, and there was nothing to be saved from it before.
At a time when many Tungus were born, it became crowded to live around Kotokel, they began to gradually and slowly rise up the Barguzin. The Barguzin road is wide, the Barguzin has a lot of tributaries, and the Tungus dispersed along these tributaries. They are hardy people, they will soon know the place, the Tungus will never get lost in the taiga, they will get out of any wilderness right where they need to go. They have such a sense, they know where what grows, they smell where animals are found, where one should go hunting, and where there is nothing to break legs in vain. Everyone here knows about their deeds, for which the Tungus is respected here.

Here is one such Tungus clan who walked for many days along the left bank of the Barguzin and saw a path that stretches along a tributary uphill. That taiga path led the Tungus to the mountains. The Tungus do not like steppes and swamps, what they do there, they did not deal with livestock at that time. At the very ascent up the mountain, the Tungus stopped, set up yurts and went to check where the path goes further. Soon the Tungus returned and told their princeling that the taiga path breaks off here not far from the mountain, and then goes the dense taiga, where, apparently, no human foot has set foot. The prince thought and said:
— Suwo.
It means the end of the road in Tunguska. All the Tungus who stood near the prince repeated at once: "Suvo, suvo, suvo." Since then, who knows how many years have passed, but the name Suvo stuck to this place. Even before the arrival of the Russians, all the Tungus said that the Suvo River and the place of Suvo were found and first settled by Prince Shoningo, who was famous among all people for his strength and courage. In memory of the Tungus, in the very place where the prince once stood with his Tungus, a Russian village grew up.
The village was founded over two hundred years ago. Here is how it was. Two Cossacks Misserkeev and Kozulin escaped from the Verkhneudinsky prison. The Cossack chieftain did not like them, they refused to serve him, to work for the tsar's treasury. So they took it and left. How long did the Cossacks walk through the taiga, but they ended up on the Barguzin River, and then they met with the Belovodsk Tungus. The Tungus advised the Russian Cossacks to settle in the Suvo area near the river itself. The river then flowed stormy, there were so many fish in it, even take it with your hands. Suvo Misserkeyev and Kozulin liked the area, they entered into relatives with the Tungus and began to build here, raise children. The peasants lived their lives, they did not bow to anyone here, they considered themselves masters.
The good news went for a walk around the wide world, that Cossacks settled far beyond Barguzin and live happily ever after. A rumor about them reached the Zaudinsk Cossacks, and they pulled one after another to Suvo. The village began to grow day by day and grew so quickly that there were few banks of the river, the peasants went to build on the slopes of the hills. Suva grain fields turned green, herds of horses and herds of cows appeared. The people lived where the taiga had just rustled and the wolves howled. This is the history of the Russian village of Suvo!

About the pedigree of the Barguzin Buryats
Our Barguzin Buryats live in great friendship with us. We speak Buryat, they speak Russian with us. Our ancestors knew well where the Buryats came from. It was given. All Barguzins talk about that antiquity in this way. Here, listen.
From time immemorial, our great-grandfathers and grandfathers also said that these places were inhabited long before the arrival of Russians, when birch trees did not grow here, by Buryats. All our Buryats come from Lena, and now their relatives live there. Buryat Bukhe Savonov, who lives right behind the Ina, tells to this day: the sixteenth generation of Buryats was born from those ancestors who were the first to come to Barguzin. The Savonov family now has hundreds of generations. All the Buryats who live near Karolik, in Yasy, descended from the Bargut family. Their ancestors first lived on the Angara, then they moved to the Lena, and from the Lena they got to the Upper Angara, then they came to Vitim, they migrated from Vitim to Barguzin. So it used to be, the old people did not tell in vain.
I remember how my other good neighbor, Badma Dylgyrov, used to say about his relatives, so he kept almost everyone on his mind until the tenth generation of his old people. Now there are few such storytellers left. Those who are more instructive, but have received a diploma, those about the Buryat offspring, probably read in books. And we, the old people, all hope for the memory of our old man.

The owner of Olkhon
There is a terrible cave on the island of Olkhon. It's called Shaman. And it is terrible because the ruler of the Mongols once lived there - Gegen Burkhan, brother of Erlen Khan, the ruler of the underworld. Both brothers constantly terrified the inhabitants of the island with their cruelty. Even the shamans were afraid of the formidable rulers, especially Gegen-Burkhan himself. The islanders knew that if this heartless and merciless ruler got out into the world, then expect trouble: the blood of many innocents would be shed. Many common people suffered from it.
And he lived at the same time and on the same island, on Mount Izhimei, the wise hermit Khan-guta-babai. He did not recognize the power of Gegen-Burkhan, and he did not want to know himself, he never descended into his possessions. Many have seen how he kindled a fire on the top of the mountain at night and roasted a ram for dinner, but there was no way there - the mountain was considered impregnable. The formidable owner of Olkhon tried to subjugate the wise hermit, but retreated: no matter how much he sent soldiers there, the mountain would not let anyone in. Anyone who dared to climb this mountain fell dead from there, because huge stones fell with a roar on the heads of uninvited guests. So everyone left Khan-guta-babai alone.
It so happened that among one islander, Gegen-Burkhan executed her husband, a young herdsman, because, as it seemed to the lord, he disrespectfully looked at him.
The young woman hit the ground with grief, burst into burning tears, and then, inflamed with fierce hatred for Gegen-Burkhan, she began to think about how to save her native tribe from the cruel ruler. And she decided to go to the mountains and tell Khan-guta-babai about the severe suffering of the inhabitants of the island. Let him intercede for them and punish Gegen-Burkhan.
The young widow set off. And surprisingly, where the most dexterous warriors fell, she rose easily and freely. So she safely reached the top of Mount Izhimey, and not a single stone fell on her head. After listening to the brave, freedom-loving islander, Khan-guta-babai said to her:
- Okay, I'll help you and your tribe. And you go back now and warn all the islanders about this.
The delighted girl descended from Mount Izhimey and did what the wise hermit had ordered her to do.
And Khan-guta-babai himself, on one of the moonlit nights, descended to the land of Olkhon on a light white-foam cloud. He fell to the ground with his ear and heard the groans of the innocent victims ruined by Gegen-Burkhan.
- It is true that the land of Olkhon is all saturated with the blood of the unfortunate, - Khan-guta-babai was indignant and made a promise, - Gegen-Burkhan will not be on the island. But you must help me with this. Let a handful of Olkhon soil turn red when I need it!"
And in the morning I went to the Shaman cave. The enraged ruler went out to meet the hermit sage and asked him hostilely:
- Why complained to me?
Khan-guta-babai calmly replied:
- I want you to leave the island.
Gegen-Burkhan boiled even more:
- Do not be this! I'm the boss here! And I will deal with you.
- I'm not afraid of you, - said Khan-guta-babai. He looked around and added - There is power on you too!
Gegen-Burkhan also looked around and gasped: not far away, frowning islanders stood in a dense wall.
“So you want to settle the matter with a battle?” cried Gegen-Burkhan.
“I didn’t say that,” Khan-guta-babai said again calmly. “Why shed blood? Let's fight better, so it will be peaceful!
- Let's!
Gegen-Burkhan fought with Khan-guta-babai for a long time, but none of them could achieve an advantage - both turned out to be real heroes, equal in strength. With that, they parted ways. We agreed to decide the case the next day by lot. It was agreed that everyone would take a cup, fill it with earth, and at night, before going to bed, each one would put his cup at his feet. And whoever's land turns red overnight - to leave the island and wander to another place, and whoever's land does not change color - to remain in possession of the island.
The next evening, according to the agreement, they sat side by side on the felt laid in the Shaman's cave, placed a wooden cup at their feet, filled them with earth, and immediately went to bed.
And then the night came, and with it came the insidious underground shadows of Erlen Khan, on whose help his cruel brother strongly hoped. The shadows noticed that the earth was colored in the cup at Gegen-Burkhan. They immediately carried this cup to the feet of Khan-guta-babai, and his cup to the feet of Gegen-burkhan. But the blood of the ruined turned out to be stronger than the shadows of Erlen Khan, and when a bright ray of the morning sun burst into the cave, the earth was in the cup of Khan-guta-babai went out, and the earth in the cup of Gegen-Burkhan turned red. And at that moment they both woke up.
Gegen-Burkhan looked at his cup and sighed heavily:
“Well, then, you own the island,” he said to Khan-guta-babai, “and I will have to wander to another place.
And then he ordered his Mongols to load property onto camels and dismantle yurts. And in the evening, Gegen-Burkhan ordered everyone to go to bed. And at night, the Mongols, with their camels and all their belongings, caught up by the powerful shadows of Erlen Khan, were quickly transferred beyond Lake Baikal. In the morning they woke up already on the other side.
But many poor Mongols remained to live on the island. It was from them that the Olkhon Buryats, who inhabit this island today, originated.

trunk rock
In the distant past, on the shores of the Glorious Sea - Baikal - it was very warm. Large unprecedented trees grew here and huge animals were found: giant rhinos, saber-toothed tigers, cave bears and shaggy giants - mammoths. The lingering trumpet sounds of mammoths shook the mountains. Mammoths were considered the largest and most powerful among all the animals on earth, but by nature they were modest, peaceful.
And only one of the Baikal mammoths was distinguished by a strong temper, exorbitant bragging and arrogance. He always walked alone, important and proud, and woe was to those who met on his way. Smaller animals he grabbed with his long trunk and threw into the bushes, and those who were larger, he hooked with thick tusks and threw them to the ground. For fun, the boastful mammoth uprooted giant trees, upended huge boulders and blocked the rivers running to Baikal.
More than once the leader of the mammoths tried to reason with the braggart:
"Come to your senses, obstinate, do not offend weak animals, do not destroy trees in vain, do not muddy the river, otherwise you will not get well." The arrogant listened to the speeches of the old mammoth, and he continued to do it in his own way. And once he completely unbelted. “Why are you teaching me everything!” he roared at the leader, “what are you frightening me for! Yes, I’m the strongest here, yes, if you want, not only the rivers, I’ll throw stones at the whole Baikal, like a puddle!”
The leader was horrified, the rest of the mammoths waved their trunks at the bouncer. Baikal also stirred, dousing the shore with a wave and hiding an unkind smile in his gray mustache.
But the dispersed mammoth did not see anything. He fled, plunged his tusks into the rock, lifted it up to throw it far into the sea, and suddenly the rock became heavy, heavy. The tusks broke from the exorbitant weight and, together with the rock, fell into the water. Here the mammoth roared out of grief, extended its long trunk to the water to get its tusks, and froze like that, petrified forever.
Since then, a huge rock has been standing on the shore of Lake Baikal, hanging over the water like a trunk. And now people call it that - Trunk Rock.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
http://ozerobaikal.info
Baikal // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.
http://www.photosight.ru/
Galaziy G.I. Baikal in questions and answers. — 1989.
Grafov S. V., Kolotilo L. G., Potashko A. E. Pilot of Lake Baikal. Admiralty No. 1007. - St. Petersburg: GUNiO, 1993.
Grushko Ya. M. Baikal: Guide / Prof. Ya. M. Grushko. - Irkutsk: East Siberian Book Publishing House, 1967. - 252 p. — 1,500 copies. (in trans.)
Gusev O. K., Ustinov S. K. In northern Baikal and the Baikal region / Photo illustrations by O. Gusev, V. Lomakin, M. Mineev, L. Tyulina. - M .: Physical culture and sport, 1966. - 104 p. - (In native spaces). - 17,000 copies.
Gusev O. K. Sacred Baikal. Protected lands of Baikal. — M.: Agropromizdat, 1986. — 184 p.
Kozhov M. M. Biology of Lake Baikal / Ed. ed. G. I. Galaziy. - M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1962. - 316 p.
Kolotilo L. G. Baikal // Marine Encyclopedic Dictionary. - St. Petersburg: Shipbuilding, 1991. - T. 1. - S. 108.
Pilot and physical-geographical sketch of Lake Baikal / Ed. F. K. Drizhenko. - St. Petersburg: Edition of the Main Hydrographic Department, 1908. - 443 p.
Rossolimo L. L. Baikal. — M.: Nauka, 1966. — 170 p. — (Popular science series). — 20,000 copies. (reg.)
Taliev D.N. Baikal: Biologo-geographical essay. — M.; Irkutsk: Ogiz, 1933. - 64 p.
Tivanenko A. V. Around Baikal. - Ulan-Ude: Buryat book publishing house, 1979.

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Where is Lake Baikal located? Lake Baikal is the cleanest and deepest freshwater lake on our planet. Lake Baikal is also the largest reservoir of fresh, surface water on Earth. Baikal is famous for its crystal clear water. It is home to a large variety of fauna and flora. This magnificent lake is located in Asia and occupies part of the territory of Siberia in Russia. Lake Baikal is located and borders on the Republic of Buryatia and the Irkutsk region, not far from the city of Irkutsk. Baikal is considered one of the seven underwater wonders of the world. Its name Baikal comes from two words of the Turkic language, it is “bay”, which means rich and “kul”, which means lake.

Depth of Lake Baikal and its dimensions?

The width of Lake Baikal, in its widest part, is 79.5 kilometers, and the width in its narrow part is 25 kilometers. The average width of Lake Baikal is 47.8 kilometers. The lake is located along a tectonic fault, which explains its great depth. The maximum depth of the lake is 1637 meters, which makes it the deepest in the world. And its average depth is 758 meters. Baikal covers an area of ​​31,722 square kilometers. More than 330 small rivers flow into this lake. There are 22 islands inside the lake. Olkhon Island is the largest island in the lake. In Lake Baikal there are about

23 615.390 cubic kilometers of the purest fresh water. This is almost 20% of all the world's fresh water reserves on Earth, which is located on the surface. It contains more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined. It is also the oldest lake in the world. Since Lake Baikal has existed for more than 25 million years.

Features of Lake Baikal

One of its most important features is that the water on Lake Baikal is so clean that any object at its depth is already visible at a depth of 40 meters. In addition, Lake Baikal is also the most beautiful lake in the world. It is one of the few sources of fresh water that continues to grow rapidly, growing at an average of 2 centimeters per year.

Flora and fauna on Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal has an impressive and unique flora and fauna. Scientists have determined the existence of about 2,600 species of animals and plants. Among them, about 70 percent of animals and plants are endemic. That is, this means that these animals and plants can only be found here on Lake Baikal. One of the most representative inhabitants of the lake's ecosystem is the Nerpa. This is a unique freshwater seal that lives in the northern part of Lake Baikal. Another symbol of the Baikal fauna is Omul. This is the most popular type of salmon fish in this lake. And another representative of Lake Baikal is Golomyanka. This fish is also called as "Baikal oil fish". This is a kind of unusual, beautiful fish, translucent in appearance. Which lives at a depth between 200 and 500 meters. This type of fish is famous for its decay, under the influence of sunlight, into separate parts, only bones remain from it. Foxes, eagles, deer, bears and many other species of animals and plants also live in this area.

Nature on Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal itself is a true miracle, but, in addition, it is surrounded by a beautiful landscape. There are beautiful forests and rocky mountains here, so it is one of the most favorite places for Russians. Hiking, camping, kayaking, biking, fishing and other activities are organized here.

About Lake Baikal, the most famous writer of Russia, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, said this: “Baikal is so amazing, and it’s not for nothing that Siberians treat it not like a lake, but like a sea. The water in it is unusually transparent, so that one can look into the depths as if through air; the color is soft turquoise, the most pleasing to your eye. And its shores are mountainous and covered with forest; around the impenetrable desert. Bears, sables, wild goats and other wild animals live here.”

History of Lake Baikal.

Since ancient times, many people have lived near Lake Baikal. Remains of human presence in the region have been found. This presence dates back to the Stone Age. Residents of the region consider this lake the most sacred place. Because of this, Lake Baikal was known as "sacred water" or "holy sea" and people here prayed, believed in the power of the lake. But, on Lake Baikal, the main migration of people occurred only after its discovery by the Russians in the 17th century. In 1643, Ivanov Kurbat, who was the first Russian to enter this region of Eastern Siberia. And in 1647, at the head of the expedition, Vasily Kolesnikov, reached the northern part of the coast of Lake Baikal.

From the very beginning, the Russian people were engaged in fishing and hunting in Lake Baikal. For this region, the lake is the basis of the economy.

Since the discovery of Lake Baikal, many expeditions have carried out their research. One of the first was a scientific expedition sent in 1723 by Peter I. Most of the scientific works on Lake Bakal had already been published by the Academy of St. Petersburg. However, only in the 19th century, in connection with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, were geographical and geological studies carried out. During the 20th century, many other studies were carried out in the lake, including a full survey organized by the Academy of Sciences. In 1976, the first satellite photographs of Lake Baikal were taken. Nevertheless, despite all these expeditions, there are still a lot of questions and mysteries.

Lake Baikal was declared in 1996 a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unfortunately, over the past 50 years, many enterprises and settlements have been built on Baikal that pollute it. They negatively affect and have a terrible impact on the sensitive ecosystem of Lake Baikal. Garbage, chemical waste dumped by agricultural production, a growing flow of tourists, all this causes enormous damage to the fresh water reserves in the main reservoir of the Earth.

Due to the growing pollution of Lake Baikal, the authorities have taken some emergency measures to protect it. They banned the harvesting of timber and their transportation through Lake Baikal. A number of industries in the Republic of Buryatia were transferred to a closed production cycle. To stop pollution and population growth around the lake, emergency measures were taken to protect the natural environment. But, these activities are not enough to fight against the threat that looms over Lake Baikal. Currently, there are two main pollution threats: the city of Ulan-Ude with its wastewater and the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill. Though about the second water pollutant of the lake, a decision was made to close it.

The future wonder of nature now depends on our decision to preserve it for our descendants. We are responsible and must fight for the safety of this magnificent, wonderful Lake Baikal. If you are in these parts, then be sure to visit these places and especially Lake Baikal, where you can spend your unforgettable.

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- the greatest on our planet. It is inextricably linked with Russia and is one of its symbols. Located near the center of Asia, Lake Baikal is known far beyond this continent.

The Baikal basin was formed by tectonic processes: the lake lies in a deep depression, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. is the oldest lake in the world. He is about 25 million years old. During all this time, the shores of Baikal diverged at an average rate of 2 cm per year, and in the distant future, Baikal may turn into a real ocean. Baikal is the deepest lake on Earth. Its maximum depth is 1620 meters. This allows Baikal, with a relatively small surface area (31,500 km 2 .), to contain 20% of the world's fresh water reserves: 23 thousand km 3. Approximately the same amount contains all five Great Lakes of North America taken together - Superior, Michigan, Erie, Ontario and Huron. In order to fill the empty basin of Baikal, it would take the volume of water that all the rivers of the planet bring into the world ocean in 300 days. And another “Great Giant”, the Amazon River, would need to feed Baikal for four years to do this.

336 rivers flow into the lake, but the main role in the water balance of the lake is played by Selenga, contributing to the basin 50% of the annual inflow of water. At the same time, the lake gives life to only one river - Angara, on which the dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station was built in 1959, which raised the water level in Baikal by a meter. It is on the Angara, which is called the “daughter of Baikal”, that the largest Bratskoye reservoir on our planet with a volume of 169.3 km 3 was created. The water in Baikal is dark blue and so transparent that in June, when transparency reaches its maximum, one can observe forty-meter depths with the naked eye. It is curious that the water in the lake is fresher than the water of the rivers flowing into it, and its mineralization decreases with depth. Scientists have put forward a hypothesis about the existence of a permanent powerful superfresh source at the bottom of Lake Baikal. Until it is proven or disproven.

Water exchange of Lake Baikal

Speaking of exceptional purity, one of its inhabitants should be mentioned, thanks to which water from the lake can be safely drunk without any additional purification. This is a tiny crab epishura, which is one of the endemics of the lake (that is, it is not found anywhere except Baikal). It is this crustacean, repeatedly passing the waters of the lake through itself, and cleans them. Epishura is not the only Baikal endemic. Two thirds of the flora and fauna of the lake live only in Baikal. The most famous are the Baikal seal, the Baikal omul, the Baikal seal, some species of gobies, as well as the golomyanka viviparous fish. In total, 2.6 thousand species and varieties of plants and animals live in the lake.

Ecology of Lake Baikal

In the 20th century, the unique world of the lake faced a problem that threatened the possibility of the continued existence of nature. In the early 60s of the XX century, the construction of the Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill (PPM) began on the southern shore of the lake. In this regard, a discussion immediately unfolded. Scientific expeditions were sent to the Baikal area, the purpose of which was to find out how the negative environmental impact of the plant's activities affects the unique nature of the lake. Newspapers actively discussed the possibility of creating "clean" technologies for pulp and paper production. The problem was reflected even in art: in 1970, director S. A. Gerasimov shot the film “ At a lake", whose heroes are looking for a compromise between the need to create a plant and the desire to preserve Baikal. Despite harsh criticism, the pulp and paper mill was built and put into operation in 1966. Its effluents, as well as the effluents of the pulp and paper mill (PPM) on the Selenga River, contain toxic phenols, chlorides, sulfates and suspended matter in large quantities.

Baikal Pulp and Paper Mill

As a result, back in 1994, in the area of ​​the Baikal pulp and paper mill, the water pollution zone extended to 10 km2, and the area of ​​the polluted bottom area was 70 km2. The Selenga River, which plays an important role in the water balance of the lake, also brings the runoff of the city of Ulan-Ude into its basin. An increased concentration of phenols was found in its waters, and the content of oil products exceeds the MPC (maximum permissible concentration) by 3–15 times. The forces of the lake are still coping with the misfortunes that have fallen, however, the resources of Baikal are not unlimited, and if nothing is done, they will run out sooner or later. Then the life of the lake, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, will be in danger, and it is possible that, after many years, our descendants, having come to the water surface