The origin of Lake Baikal. Lake Baikal on the map. Age of the Baikal basin

The origin of Lake Baikal is tectonic. It is in Siberia; Is the deepest in the world. The lake and all adjoining territories are inhabited by quite diverse and unique species of animals and plants. It is interesting that in the Russian Federation Baikal is called the sea.

At the moment there are disputes about how many years actually a pond. As a rule, all adhere to the framework: 25-35 million years. However, it is precisely about precise calculations that discussions are held. This "life span" for the lake is very uncharacteristic, as a rule, all lakes swam after 10-15 thousand years of existence.

General geographical information

Lake Baikal is in the center of Asia, it stretches from the south-west to the northeast. Its length is 620 km, the minimum width is 24 km, and the maximum is 79 km. The coastline stretches for 2 thousand km. The lake is surrounded by hills and mountain ranges. In the west, the coast is steep, rocky. In the east the coastline is shallow.

This reservoir is the deepest in the world. The total area of Lake Baikal is 31 thousand km ² . The average depth of the reservoir is 744 meters. Due to the fact that the basin lies 1 thousand meters below the level of the World Ocean, the depression of this lake is one of the deepest.

Fresh water reserve - 23 thousand km ³ . Among the lakes Baikal is the second in this figure. He succumbs to the Caspian Sea, but the difference is that the latter has salty water. Interesting is the fact that the pond has more water than the entire Great Lakes system .

In the XIX it was established that 336 water streams flow into Baikal. At the moment there is no exact figure, and scientists call constantly different data: from 544 to 1120.

Climate and water of Baikal

Description of Lake Baikal allows us to understand that the water of the reservoir contains a lot of oxygen, little mineral substances (suspended and dissolved) and organic impurities.

Because of the climate of the water, it is quite cold here. In summer, the temperature of the layers does not exceed 9 degrees, more rarely 15 degrees. The highest temperature was +23 degrees in some bays.

When the water is blue (as a rule, it becomes so in the spring), the bottom of the lake can be seen if its depth in this place does not exceed 40 meters. In summer and autumn, the pigment that stains the water disappears, the transparency becomes minimal (no more than 10 m). Salts are also small, so you can use water as distilled.

Ledostav

Ledostav lasts from the beginning of January to the first ten days of March. The entire surface of the reservoir is covered with ice, except for the one in the Angara. From June to September Baikal is open for navigation.

The thickness of ice, as a rule, does not exceed 2 meters. When there are severe frosts, the cracks split the ice into several large chunks. As a rule, gaps occur in the same areas. At the same time they are accompanied by a very loud sound, which resembles shots or thunder. The problems of Lake Baikal are not entirely obvious, but this is the main one. Thanks to the cracks, the fish do not perish, because the water is enriched with oxygen. Due to the fact that the ice passes the sun's rays, algae grow well in the water.

Origin of Lake Baikal

Questions about the origin of Baikal still do not have an exact answer, and scientists are holding discussions on this matter. Now there are reports that the current coastline is not more than 8 thousand years, while the reservoir itself exists much longer.

Some researchers admit the idea that the origin of Lake Baikal is associated with the presence of a mantle plume, others - a zone of a transform fault, and the third - a collision of the Eurasian plate. At the same time, the reservoir is still changing because of permanent earthquakes.

For sure, only the fact that the basin in which Baikal is located is rift. Its structure is similar to the structure of the Dead Sea basin.

The origin of the basin of Lake Baikal was during the Mesozoic period. However, some believe that it happened 25 million years ago. Since the reservoir has several basins, they all differ in both the formation time and the structure. At present, the emergence of new ones continues. Due to a strong earthquake, a section of the island left under the water and a small bay was formed. In 1959, due to the same natural disaster, the bottom of the reservoir fell several meters down.

Under the ground there is always a warming up of the bowels, this strongly affects the origin of the basin of Lake Baikal. It is these parts of the earth that can raise the earth's crust, break it, deform it. Most likely, it was this process that became decisive in the formation of ridges that surround the entire body of water. At the moment, tectonic depressions surround Baikal from almost all sides.

Many people know the fact that each year the shore of the lake is separated by 2-3 cm. The origin of Lake Baikal influenced the seismic activity in this region. Now in the zone of the reservoir there is not a single volcano, however, volcanic activity is still present.

The relief of the lake developed under the influence of the glacial period. In some moraines, their influence is observed. Boulders dropped in size up to 120 meters. It is also possible that the origin of Lake Baikal was associated with the melting of ice floes. But we know for certain only that the reservoir is not covered with ice for a long time, thanks to which life is preserved in it.

Flora and fauna

Baikal is rich in fish and plants. Here live 2 thousand species of marine animals. Most of them are endemic, that is, they can live only in a given pond. Such a large number of inhabitants of the lake is due to the fact that there is sufficient oxygen in the water. Crustaceans of the epicure often occur. They play an important role in the life of the entire Baikal, as they perform a filter function.

Stages of studying and settling the lake

According to the documents that were found as a result of the inspection of Baikal, until the 12th century the adjacent territories were inhabited by Buryats. They first mastered the western shore, and later reached Transbaikalia. Russian settlements appeared only in the XVIII century.

Ecological situation

Baikal has a unique ecology. In 1999, official regulations were adopted that protect the pond. Established a regime that controls all human activities. The problems of Lake Baikal are associated with the cutting down of trees, which strongly affects the environment. People who deal with such things are prosecuted by law.

origin of name

This issue is still unclear, and the data provided by scientists vary greatly. To date, there are more than ten explanations and conjectures. Some are based on the version, which is the origin of the name from the Türkic language (Bai-Kul), others - Mongol (Bagal, also Baigal Dalai). Those people who lived on the shore of the lake, he was called quite differently: Lamu, Beihai, Beigal-Nuur.

You can get to Baikal from any direction. As a rule, tourists visit it in Severobaikalsk, Irkutsk or Ulan-Ude.

A few kilometers from Irkutsk there is Listvyanka - a village near the water body itself. It is he who leads in the number of tourists. Here you can spend your holidays quite actively and admire the beauty of the lake.

On the northern shore of Lake Baikal is the resort of Khakusy. In addition, you can find ecological trails.