Lake Baikal is a rift lake in Russia, located in
southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the
northwest and the Buryat Republic to the
southeast. Lake Baikal is the largest fresh water lake by
volume in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh
water. With 23,615.39 km3 (5,700 cu mi) of fresh
water, it contains more water than all the
North American Great Lake s combined. With a maximum depth of 1,642 m
(5,387 ft), Baikal is the world's deepest lake. It is considered among the world's clearest lakes and is considered the world's
oldest lake— at 25 million years. It is the seventh-largest lake in the world by
surface area.
Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake
Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley, having the
typical long crescent shape with a surface area of 31,722 km2(12,248 sq mi). Baikal is home
to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which exist nowhere else
in the world.
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