Zabaikalsky National Park (Russia)
The Zabaikalsky National Park is part of the 'Lake Baikal
World Heritage Site' and lies in south-east Siberia in the
Russian Federation. The core area of the World Heritage
site is Lake Baikal itself and the land from 5km to 70km
surrounding it. The property covers 88,000sq.km, including
19,000sq.km in protected areas.
The surface area of Lake Baikal covers 31,500sq.km and is
455m above sea level. There are 365 rivers flowing into
the Lake and only one, the Angara River, flowing out.
Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world (deepest point:
1,637m), has the greatest volume of any freshwater lake
in the world (23,000 km³ - equivalent to approximately
20% of all running fresh water in the world) and is the
sixth largest in terms of open water area.
The Lake is 636km long and up to 80km wide and is the oldest
major lake in the world at 25 million years. It has exceptionally
clear water (up to 40m visibility), and a mineral content
25-50% lower than most other freshwater lakes. The unusual
purity of the water is due to the presence of Epischura
zooplankton, and the fact that most of Lake Baikal's watershed
is surfaced with rock so that water inflow has little mineral
or chemical contact.
The surface of the Lake freezes during winter, with ice
present until mid-June.
The Lake Baikal basin shows a great variety of plants which
is determined by climatic asymmetry: the western part of
the basin is occupied by light coniferous forests and mountain
steppes; in the east pine forest predominate whilst the
north is dominated by deciduous forests. Lake Baikal' fauna
is one of the most diverse in the world with 1,500 aquatic
species, 80% of which are endemic. The most noteworthy aquatic
species is the unique freshwater Baikal seal.
The region of Lake Baikal is also rich in cultural heritage. Some 1,200 Archaeological remains of past cultures have been found around the lake's shores: rock drawings, stone walls and remains of ancient settlements and 1,000 such monuments have legal protection. The Huns, Kaganates of the Zhouzhanhs, ancient Turks, Uighurs and Kidanhs, who maintained broad international relations with both the East and the West ,lived around the Lake. Lake Baikal and the Selenga River are mentioned in ancient Chinese chronicles, Muslim historical manuscripts and old Russian books. Buddhist and shaman shrines, and Russian Orthodox churches are found.
Today, about 100.000 people of different ethnic groups, including Russians, Buryats, Evenks, live permanently in the Lake Baikal basin. About half of the population are urban, the remainder living in villages. The main activities are forestry, agriculture, fisheries, hunting and tourism.
Lake Baikal Basin provides an outstanding example of the
evolutionary development of a rift zone of global scale
and includes contrasting landscapes of mountains, forests,
steppes, tundra and lake. It’s also one of the world’s
most biologically diverse lakes. It has been referred to
as the “Galapagos of Russia” as its age and
isolation have produced one of the world’s richest
and most unusual freshwater faunas.