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8/9/2019 Lake Baikal-The Pearl of Siberia
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Kanook Tlingit Nation
May 2010
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Sitting in one of the deepest rifts in the earth crust is the massive fresh water
Lake Baikal, a lake that in recent history was known as the North Sea in historical
Chinese records during the Xiongnu period of history, and now is known as the
single largest fresh water lake in the world containing approximately 20% of the
Earths fresh water surface, and it is large enough to hold all the water in the United
States' Great Lakes. It is the world's deepest lake as well as oldest; at 25 millionyears old, it predates the emergence of humans. Its surface is 1,497 feet above sea
level with its deepest section at 3,896 feet below sea level and has an average
depth of 2,442 feet. It contains over 23,000 cubic kilometers of freshwater (5,518
cubic miles), and is fed from a drainage basin with over 220,464 square miles, a
little smaller than France.
Kurbat Afanasyevich Ivanov a Yenisei River Cossack was the first non-native to
discover Lake Baikal, whereas on June 21st, 1643 along with 74 men and a Tungus
prince named Mozheul sailed south on the Lena River in search of a rumored large
body of water at the head waters of the Lena. Through the upper Lena and its
tributary the Ilikta they reached and crossed the Primorsky Ridge and following the
Sarma River descended to the Lake reaching its shores near Olkhon Island, the 3rd
largest lake bound island in the world building some boats they sailed over to the
Island.
The lakes age is estimated at 25-30 million years, making it one of the most
ancient lakes in geological history, whereas beneath the lake bottom exists another
4.35 miles of sediment, placing overall the Baikal Rift Floor 6.84 miles below themean surface, in other words the deepest continental rift on Earth. Geologically the
rift is very active widening 0.79 inches per year, causing a pretty active fault zone.
Evidence of this shows up in the numberous hot springs in the area and notable
earthquakes every few years.
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The sediments are found to be unique among large-high-latitude lakes in that they
have not be scoured by overriding continental ice sheets in the 1990s combined
Russian and United States studies produced a finely detailed record of climatic
variation over the past 250,000 years whereas longer and deeper sediment cores
are expected in the future. In addition to the uniqueness of the Lake it is the only
confined fresh water lake where direct and indirect evidence of gas hydrates have
been found.
Shaman Rock (consider a holy site)Lake Baikal is completely surrounded by mountains, with the Baikal Mountains on
the north shore and the taiga technically protected as a National Park. The lake
contains 27 islands; with its largest being Olkhon some 44.7 miles long and is
consider either the 3rd or 4th (take you pick) largest lake-bound Island in the world.
The lake draws its waters from over 360 inflowing rivers and streams, with a
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number of primary sources such as the Selenga River (636 miles long) [60% of the
water into the Lake], the Barguzin River (298 miles long), the Upper Angara River
(199 miles long), the Turka River (+93 miles), the Sarma River (un measured), and
the Snezhnava River (un measured). It drainage is through a single outlet, the
Angara River (1,105 miles long). The time between one molecule of water in to the
same molecule out is over 300 years.
In ancient times the place (one story relates) where Lake Baikal is now, was
covered in a dense forest. There was so much game that it was difficult for man to
pass through it. And among birds there was one, as big as a sturgeon. Its wings
were huge and strong, and if it touched a tree, the tree would fall down with its
roots up, and if it touched a rock the rock would fly to bits. The people were afraid
of the bird, but they could not kill it as when it flew by, hot rays it eradiated, madehunters fall in a dead faint.
But a man was born. He grew before the people's eyes. Soon he grew up as strong
as Hercules and feared nothing. The people came and asked him to save them and
kill that monstrous fiery bird. The hero listened to them. From 100 trees he made a
bow, from 200 stems he cut out an arrow and set off hunting. Shortly after the
Earth shuddered. And the bird fell down and a fire broke out, and it was hot in the
skies. The people left the taiga for the mountains and saw water columns through
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the flames. And a sea appeared on that place. While the Earth and the taiga were
burning, the people "were crying out: "Baikal, Baikal". Since that time the place has
been called Baikal. Nobody knows for sure what the people meant by that word,
either that bird, or the big fire, or the word meant "much water"... All the people
remember that the place is called Baikal. Others maintain the lakes name is
from a Turkic word bay-kul which means a rich lake.Such is one of the legends found in and around Lake Baikal, a legend dating back
to the 1st millennium AD when the Pribaikalia region was inhabited by a tribal union
that consisted of three families the Turks, the Evenki and the Protoburyats that
carried a common name, Kurykans. Over 6 to 11 centuries these ancient tribes
developed a distinctive culture that spread along the Lower Selenga, in the valleys
of Barguzin and Tunkinsky and up onto the shoreline of
the Upper Lena and the river Angara.
They enjoyed a semi-settled nomadic way of life, where
their principal survival activity was cattle-breeding that
supplemented the fishing and game products. As time
passed they eventually became breeders of camels, goats
and what came to be known perfect horses that they
exported to the court of the various Chinese Emperors
and furthered their skills of wild animal domestication. Evidence found shows that
they used Olkhon Island as one of their primary agriculture locations where it has
been found they constructed elaborate irrigational systems, these being found also
in the Kudinsky steppe region.
Along with their skills in farming, they developed a large
knowledge base in the extraction and processing of metals and were
skillful manufactures of crude iron, household hardware, such as
horse gear, arrow-heads and daggers they also had well foundskills in making their required tools from bones and rocks, and
kitchen utensils and well-made clothing. Their skill in art is well
evidenced in rock paintings found near the Upper Lena, whereas
youll find paintings depicting horsemen with banners, camels and
people in long-cloths and according to the script carved into the rock
possessed a comprehensive writing system.
In death they had elaborate funeral monuments that were distinguished from
another by its inner and external arrangements some of the most famous
monuments are found in the form of miniature tents on Olkhon Island and it is told
that their burial locations were regarded as places for holding diverse rites, somemention a strong cult tendency. Why not, anytime that modern man finds a varied
deviation from standard practices today he has a tendency to call in the cults.
Over the years because of the constant invasion of their land from the south by
the Tungus of Manchuria, the Uygurs, and the Kirgis of the Enisey they were forced
to build special fortifications in the valleys of the Angara, the Lena, the Osa and the
Kuda, whereas they were dug out and were usually situated uphill and were
surrounded with deep moats and rock walls. To no avail, in the 10th Century the
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Mongolian tribes from the south invaded the territory of the Pribaikalia following an
extended period of war the Kurykans were defeated with the largest remaining
part of the tribe moving North where they eventually caused the formation of the
Yakutias people, while the rest assimilated into the Mongols and were the
forefathers of the Western Buryats. Human remains dating back 30,000 years have
been found around the Lake.The Buryats, numbering today around 436,000 are the largest ethnic minority
group in Siberia are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic
with its western boundary on the eastern shoreline of Lake Baikal. In the days
before the Russian invaded their territory they were known as a people whose
hospitality and love of fellow-men would put to shame the highly civilized cultures
of even today. Interesting Yuliy Borisovich Bryners (Yul Bryner) grandmother on his
father side (Natalya Iosiphovna Kurkutova, was from Irkutsk) and was of Buryat
ancestry.
The Buryats had their own social clan organization; the head of each settlement
(Ulus) was the big boss, whereas the actual tribal administration was run by tribal
council that was led by the big boss. The big boss was called the Knyaztsy and
were the big landlords and headed the feudal top of the Buryat society they were
regarded as the absolute owners of the Uluss.
Whether they adopted ways of the Kurykans, or the assimilation between the two
caused the effect, the Buryats farm or ranch was mainly cattle-breeding, this
applied to the semi-nomadic (western tribes) and nomadic (eastern tribes) as well.
Their life-style provided them with their food, clothes and material for their living
and overall subsistence including the construction of the felt yurts. Cattle breeding
requires a tremendous amount of fresh grass consequently they roamed the land
constantly in search of food for their cattle, horses, camels, along with their sheep
and goat herds.As with their close cousins to the south of them in Mongolia the horse was sacred
to them, as the number of pure-bred horses they owned increased their families
status amongst the tribe and permitted high value in their trading. Their custom of
hanging a horse-shoe at the doorway of each Yurta was done to attract happiness
to their home, and a horse-hair possessed a magic power that kept away all evil
spirits. Horse-meat was considered to be the most exotic dish, and horse-hair was
used in making ropes and in net manufacturing, whereas footwear was made from
horse-hide, and its tendons served them well in reinforcing their long-lasting
clothes. To have expensive silver adorning on the saddle was a very large status
symbol for its owner.They were talented hunters, whereas they hunting season for squirrel, sable and
ermine began in the middle of October and ended at the beginning of February and
the entire winter they hunted fox, wolf, lynx, otter and glutton in the summer the
primary game was Manchurian deer. Their techniques consisted of trapping and the
extensive use of the bow and arrow.
Land domestication (farming) was not a high priority to the Buryats until the
Russian people came, as it was, of the type that had been taken after the Kurykan,
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where they used mostly hoes and mattocks sowing their rye, oats, wheat and hemp
as well (hashish). They made use of the ancient irrigation systems established by
the Kurykans and it wasnt until later that they adopted the Russian iron plough,
wooden harrows and wooden ploughs which all increased their swing toward
farming. The Buryat traditional dwelling was a roaming Yurta, which consisted of
the easy-transportable trellised walls that were tied with horse-hair cords and theframe-work was covered with felt pieces sewn together. The doors were always
on the southern side and the interior was divided in two sections. One side for the
men, with all his tools of survival the other for the women and their kitchen tools
and its condiments, there was a hearth at its center.
Today most descendents are found in the Buryat Republic, in the Ust Ordynsky
Buryat region and other districts of the Siberian Far East.
The Evenki are the aboriginals of the Russian Far East (Transbaikalia) and since
Neolithic times lived in and around the Baikal region, whereas their origin is said to
be a result of some complex processes, that evolved over time with their
intermarriage with different ancient aboriginal cultures from the Siberian north.
Their language is related to the Turks and Mongols where over the centuries the
language of these tribes took precedence over their language.
Elements of their culture from the Neolithic period are
still evident today, these include the conical tent
dwellings, bone fish-lures, and birch-bark boats these
ancient finds have been found from the Lake Baikal area
to the Amur and the Okhotsk Sea, the Lena Basis and
the Yenisey Basin.
Overall their culture was spread over some 2.7 million
square miles, from the Enisey River up to the Far East as
well as from the Arctic Ocean to China and Mongolia. Inthe Lake Baikal area they settled along the shoreline of
the lake, the Lena River and the Angara River.
Historians label them as the taigas Gipsy, this in
reference to their nomadic lifestyle. Previously society
called them the Tungus for their roaming of the taiga
(tundra) in their search for game.
They did not adopt the settled lifestyle until the Soviet government came into
their life, in spite of this change, most today maintain the same lifestyle they
practices for hundreds of centuries.
Within their society they had three principal sects, 1) the Lamuchony thehunters, 2) the Orochony reindeer herders/breeders, 3) and the Khamnigany the
horse-breeders. The Lamuchony were proficient in hunting sable, lynx, fox, squirrel,
and ermine, whereas the Orochony roamed great distances increasing their
reindeer herds, and the Khamnigany in their raising horses and large flocks of sheep
lived in their felt-yurtas in Mongolia and the Transbaikalia. There reputation as deer
herders is world renown, and they have an old proverb that says, The Evenki are
alive while the deer are living!
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Their way of life was based on clans, with each clan led by a chief and the clan
lifestyle spread their survival across a collective division of labor and mutual
assistance. As in the clans and families of the Native Americans a hunter gave a
part of his hunt to the members of his family.
The Evenki, as with most nomadic, pastoral and subsistence people spend a great
deal of their lives in very close contact with nature and naturally developed anecological ethic, whereas they sustained a strong system of responsibility to their
surroundings and what they considered their spirit masters, and their family and
neighbors. In other words, they were in touch with all aspects of their existence,
having a strong stringent respect for their world. Modern scholars who live amongst
steel and concrete were the horseless carriage runs rampant, label their way of life
as animistic coloring their way of life as hunter-gathers in a tone that is almost
negative. Today, albeit they have been forced by society to life a more sedentary
lifestyle, you will find the same traditions throughout the Evenki population.
Albeit they were nominally Christianized in the 18th Century, they still maintain
they practice of Shamanism, much more so than the aboriginal people of the
Americas as in the Americas the arrival of the invaders dragging along a priest
their life changed forever. But unlike the Americas, scholars today note that the
Shaman of the clan was considered its leader, whereas they note that without the
Shamans approval a tribe did little outside of their day-to-day activities. I beg to
differ on this opinion, whereas the Chief primary function was to keep his clan
operating, while a Shaman worked in tandem with the Chief curing the sick,
whether it be a human patient or in their case one of the animals they were raising,
and to call upon the spirits to help in a hunt or to accompany a soul into the
afterlife.
Like most aboriginals, they only took from nature what they needed for their
survival establishing clan rules that limited the number of a certain species killedduring a time-frame or season, in some cases it is noted that if a hunter wandered
outside of these rules and took more than necessary he might lose his life. They
treated all aspects of their life with nature, regarding nature a living breathing
organism that deserved the highest amount of respect and dignity, in this we find
as mention above they did not cut trees they didnt need, did not kill game
without necessity and worked diligently in keeping their camp clean and the
surround forests clear of underbrush. The maintenance of the forest was a practice
the Europeans found when they came ashore on the Eastern United States, whereas
the local inhabitants in order to make the land easier for hunting kept the
underbrush to a minimum in wide circles around their villages, a condition that drewcomments from the invaders that the forest of the new land represented the
parks found in Europe.
As the aboriginal people found in the northern regions above the Arctic Circle, the
Evenkis are accomplished artisans when it comes to working with Ivory, wood,
needlework, silk, fur and other fabric applications as well as creating images in
bark.
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Unfortunately, as in other parts above the Arctic Circle the invasion of modern
society during the 1920s, and 1930s have in effect eliminated their traditional
lifestyle in the Transbaikalia forced in a big manner by the force of collective
farming methods of the government in Moscow consequently their culture only
exists in small regions of the region, a culture that melded into the natural and
climate conditions of the northern territories of Siberia today the remnants ofthese innovative and progressive people are found in and around Irkutsk, the Amur,
Yakutia and the Krasnoyarsk where you will find some 36,000 souls.
Before the coming of the Cossacks into the Uda Valley there was another
roaming culture named the Karagasy (Black Goose), which are now labeled the
Tofalars (Man), living in the picturesque mountains in the Nizhneudinsk region
called the Eastern Sayan Mountains a area of volcanoes, alpine meadows and other
wonders of nature.
Their home was entirely located within the high-mountain belt of 7,700 feet to
8,500 feet above sea-level, where like their kindred peoples to the eastern Tuvins,
they enjoyed a semi-nomadic and nomadic lifestyle. Their traditional ways which
still exist today are hunting and the domestication of reindeer, whereas their
primary wild game being elk, squirrels, sables, otters, foxes and wolverines and as
their ancestors they are very skilled hunters and mindful reindeer breeders in
addition they are very accomplished guides into their wilderness. From generation
to generation they have passed down the ways of the land, its bounty and its
dangers making them like their aboriginal relatives completely in-tune with their
surroundings.
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Each year in autumn they gather the yellow flowers (Saranas Turkish for
yellow) that then are dried for winter, along with edible roots, cedar nuts, rhubarb,
ramson (wild garlic-Allium ursinum) berries and wild onions. They still practice the
use of heated glasses place on the body of an ill person to cure his sickness, this
plus their consumption of salted tea or boiled water places them apart from other
cultures in the Pribaikalia (region around Lake Baikal). They never drink water from
a natural source.
Politically throughout history they have maintained a neutral place in the inter-
tribal conflicts, this despite the fact that their neighbors were economically and
larger. Instead of getting involved at times they were forced to move farther into
the wilderness into the mountain territory of the region.Since the beginning of time they lived a tribal life, only changing with the invasion
during the 20th Century of society from the West since that time it has become
very difficult for them to maintain their traditional way of life. Consequently with
intermarriage and assimilation the last official census of the tribe shows less than
1,000 survivors with only 43% of the still able to speak their aboriginal language.
Within Russia they are known as the smallest minority and on the edge of
disappearance, and the question remains when and why the conversion of a whole
tribe into splinter-groups really happened is up for a matter of debate some
maintain it began before the people arrived from the West, while other point their
fingers at the invasion. Like the Evenkis proverb, The Evenki are alive while thedeer are living, in the region of the Tofalars the deer are disappearing.
The biodiversity of Lake Baikal is a diverse as any other lake on the planet,
whereas it has over 1,085 species of plants and over 1,550 species and varieties of
animals. Over 80% of the animals are endemic (unique to the area) to the region.
One element that actually keeps the lakes water clear (on a good day you can peer
down to a depth of 148) is the Epischura bailkalensis which is unique to the lake,
a crustacean in the family of Temoridae and accounts for over 80 to 90% of the
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lakes biomass. It inhabits the entire water column, and produces two generations
each year, winter-spring and summer, where these copepods develop under
different ecological conditions and vary in the duration of their life stages,
reproduction time, and the maturation of their sex products one female can
produce 10 egg sacks every 10-20 days, and the ratio of males to females is 1:1.
The Baikal Seal (Phoca sibirica) or theNerpa seal is another species endemic to the
Lake, like the Caspian seal they are related
to the Arctic ringed seal, and of the family
are the smallest of the true seals in addition
they are the only freshwater species. The
Phoca sibirica is the longest-lived seals (some
females 56-years) and they feed their young
on milk twice as long as other seals.
There is no clear explanation how the seals
originally came to reside in Lake Baikal,
which is hundreds of miles from any ocean,
whereas some scholars guess they came when there existed a passage from the
Arctic Ocean, or migrated from the West Siberian Glacial Lake was formed some
80,000 years ago. It is estimated there are some 60,000 of them roaming around in
the lake, their hunting has been restricted and of those who do hunt them many
drown each year hunting this rare seal.
The Phoca sibiricas secondary source of food is the Omul (Coregonus
migratorius) which is a whitefish species of the salmon family, it too being endemic
to Lake Baikal. It is a slender pelagic fish (live in
the water column and not on the bottom) with
light silver sides and a darker back, with smallspots on its dorsal fin and larger spots on its
head a terminal mouth and a large number of
gills typical of fish that feed in the pelagic
zone.
It mean adult size runs from 14.2 to 15 and
from 1.3 lbs to 1.76 lbs, albeit there have been
some reported at 22 and weighting 5.5 lbs.
They feed primarily on the zooplankton, smaller fish and occasionally some benthic
organisms found in the rich pelagic zone up to 1,134 to 1,480 deep. The
population at the northern end of the lake are typically found to be smaller thanelsewhere in the lake, studies have found that they are fairly long-live reaching
their reproductive maturity between five and fifteen years. The spawn in the rivers
feeding the lake in mid-October, broadcasting 8,000 to 30,000 eggs before
returning to the lake.
Omul is one of the primary food resources around the lake, and is considered a
delicacy throughout Russia along with being exported in great quantities providing
an economic influence for the region. In its smoke state it is widely sold around the
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lake and is one of the highlights for many travelers on the Trans-Siberian railway,
albeit the locals preferred their fish salted a very popular Siberian (stroganina)
consists of uncooked frozen Omul cut finely and served with pepper, salt and onion.
In its high demand, its fishery is one of the most important of the Lake, whereas it
highest recorded annual catch happened in the 1940s running around 60-80
thousand tons later a crash in the population prompted the closure of the fisheryin 1969, this followed by a cautious opening with strict quotas in 1974 today the
Omul fishery accounts for 66% of the total Lake Baikal fishery with a high-
management process policed by the local fisheries manager, in 1999 it was
estimated there were 26,000 tons of Omul in the Lake.
The principal ecological competitors to the Omul are the Golomyankas, or as
known, the Lake Baikal oilfish, they are two species of a peculiar sculpin-like fish
endemic to the Lake. They have a naked, glassy body which is dull and translucent
in appearance, with long pectoral fins but lack pelvic fins. In addition they have a
very strong lateral line system on their head that consists of large cavities linked by
narrow bony bridges with small external pores. Having no swim bladder or high
lipid content along with porous bones allows them to tolerate varying pressure
extremes as it travels through the water column.
Albeit they are the primary competitor of the Omul
they are also the primary food for the Nerpa seal.
Easily identifiable at being 6 to 7.9 long they are
unusual for their habit to move throughout the entire
water column, completely disregarding the differences
of water pressure albeit they can only exist within a
very narrow range of temperatures and generally
around found at depths of 700-1600 feet. They rapidly
decompose in sunlight leaving behind fat, oil and bones. There biomass populationis estimated at anywhere from 100,000 to 150,000 tons, making it one of the most
plentiful forms of vertebrate alive in Lake Baikal. Their food source is varied,
including their own young and pelagic crayfish the female does not lay eggs but
after they reach sexual maturity at two to three years produce 2000 3000 larvae
in a swarm.
The Baikal grayling (Thymallus arcticus baicalensis) Black grayling and White
grayling a active fat fish weighing up to 12 lbs and more is the sportsmens fish of
the lake. In the spring, after the ice breakup, the black grayling a very graceful fish
with a high spinal fin and sparkling rainbow colors migrate to the rivers entering
into the Lake overcome the rapids and wood-piles (zaloms) in the rivers up to 3feet high, and 17-days later the caviar gives life to the egg larvae that move back
into the Lake.
Another fish popular with
the angles is the Baikal
sturgeon ( Asipenser baerri),
albeit today it is listed as an
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endangered species, it was not too long ago that 275 lb sturgeons were caught in
the Lake.
Overall Baikal has 53 species of fish which belong to 13 families, of which the
majority are the shirokolobka (bullheads) or wide forehead as they are labeled
locally. It also contains turbellarian worms, snails and a wide variety of amphipod
crustaceans.Geologically the Lake Baikal hollow is surrounded by mountains, where on its
western shore it is closely rimmed by the Primorsky Range (5,730 feet-average) and
the Baikalsky Range (8,493 feet-max), on the eastern side it is fringed by the
Barguzinsky Range which stretches some 186 miles north to south from the valley
of the river Verkhnya Angara with an average width of 50-miles in the north and in
the south in the Chivyrkuysky hills about 19-miles. It average height is 7,876 feet
with Peak Baikal at 9,356 feet. Of all the ranges that surround Lake Baikal the
Barguzinsky is the most domineering and the highest, within the range youll find
numerous pointed peaks, towers, needles and Peak Baikal the highest in the region.
There are found traces of comparatively recent glaciers in the forms of small later
day glacier, numerous moraine deposits, and valleys of the rivers have trough
characteristics with crossbars and ledges on their length along with numerous
waterfalls and their high cascades some reaching 986 feet found on the Tykma. In
the upper regions of the range there are sets of glacier lakes, which are the sources
of the rivers. The eastern slopes of the range (from the side of the Barguzin-river)
youll see steep precipices which face the valley as rocky walls and the western
slopes represent spurs cut by water tributaries of Baikal, and some gently sloping
aside the coasts of the Lake.
Additionally on the eastern side youll find the Ulan-Burgasy Ranges, where in
1997 a snow leopard was seen which is far afield from its normal grounds albeit 40
years ago another was spotted. This range crosses through the Pribaikalsky regionwhere it eventually tops out at 9,318 feet, with Mt Khurkhag just east of Lake
Kotokel is 6,670 feet high albeit most mountains around Lake Baikal are lower
elevation foothills they eventually lead to higher peaks away from its shores. In the
south and southeast is found the Khamar-Daban Range that has in its summit
Munku-Sardyk (eternally snowy) reaching over 11,455 feet above sea-level.
All these mountain ranges and their streams flowing down into the lake show
distinct traces of mountain-valley glaciations, whereas during the last 250,000 years
there have been not less the five serious cold periods, with the last one ending only
10-15 thousand years ago.
The northern end of Lake Baikal is the shallowest, with a maximum depth of 2,922feet keep in mind that the Lake and the mountains surrounding it came to be, due
to the fracturing and movement of the earths crust, a direct result of the
movement of land around it. The major geologic feature of the Baikal Territory is
that is incorporates the borderline of some great tectonic structures, such as the
Siberian platform and its framing along with the Sayano-Baikalsky folded belt.
Along their borders tectonic movements never cease, showing the movement with
earthquakes and the measured fluctuations of separate parts of the shoreline.
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Annually the seismic station register up to 2,000 earth tremors, whereas very
sensitive seismographs installed at various depths in the lake, identify many more.
In 1862, north of the Selenga river delta, 77 square miles sank under the lake up to
a depth of 6.56 feet, as the result of an M-11 earthquake. The new bay formed on
the Lake by the 1862 earthquake was called Proval (Gap), and the newly created
water-ways that broke through, the Cape-Oblom (Break-On). Needless to say, theBaikal region is still seismically very active.
This seismic activity has created 35 hot springs around the lake, most located
north-east of Baikal and in the Tunka valley, these springs coupled with the
numerous national parks and nature reserves have made the Lake Baikal region one
of the most interesting regions in Siberia to visit. Pribaikalsky National Park, for
instance, stretches from the southern-most point of the Lake along the western
shore to the north, taking in Olkhon Island and the Small Sea its borders include
majestic rocky shore cliffs, scenic bays with sandy beaches, caves and steppes.
Zabaikalsky National Park is on the eastern shore of the Lake and includes in its
borders the Barguzin ridge peaks, Cape Svyatoy Nos with its singing sands,
Chivyrkuy Bay with its numerous caves and mineral springs, and the Ushkany
Islands famous for being preferred by the Baikal seals. Tunkinsky National Park in
the southwest of the Lake contains the Tunka mountain ridge and a valley known
historically for its medicinal mineral springs, Arshan, Zhemchug, and Nilova Pustyn.
Included in this wonderland of nature is the remote Barguzin biosphere reserve and
the Baikalo-Lensky reserve are also unique, but are very difficult to access.
Due to the size of the Lake, the process of cooling and heating is very slow,
consequently the Lake enjoys a maritime climate where the surface water during
the summer never exceeds 55.5F, while the lakes freezing takes place only in the
middle of the winter (January), long after the beginning of Siberian frost begins.
Consequently this large body of fresh water has a big influence on the climate in the
region whereas seasonal temperature variations are a smooth transition as
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summers are cooler and winters are milder on the lake shore as compared to the
city of Irkutsk only some 44-miles to the southeast. For example when it is (-13 to
-22F) in Irkutsk the lake is only (5 to -4F) and in the summer when Irkutsk reaches
(77 to 86F) the lake shore is at (59 to 68F).
The average temperature in the cold of January on the lake shore is (-5.8 to
-18.4F), and in July the temperature average is(60.8 to 71.6F), in some sheltered bays the
water temperature warms up to swimming
temperatures (66.2 to 71.6F) in July through
August September through October youll find
powerful storms sweeping across the lake.
When the lake freezes over the ice thickness
varies from 20 inches to 6.56 feet across the
lake permitting a fairly long season for skiing,
skating, snowmobiling and dog sleds. By May
(south) June (north) the ice is mostly gone, and
then the lake shores turn rosy red with the blooming of the abundant Siberian
Rhododendrons.
As mentioned in the preceding, another remarkable
fact of the lake size are the shifting winds, monsoons
and breezes a concrete sign of is maritime climate.
The various winds, besides giving rise to a complex
wind system over the years have all been given a
specific name, a name which is accompanied with a
certain type of overall weather patterns.
One pattern beginning in the Verkhnyaya (Superior)
Angara River valley is the Verkhovik wind, a north and northeast dry wind thatblows over the entire lake usually in the spring and summer, where the wind speeds
can reach (41 mph to 46 mph) the waves created by these winds eventually
dwindle into strong gently swell which last for a long-time. With this wind, the
weather may be bright and sunny, with blue sky and green and dark-blue waves
rimmed with white caps. When the wind gets stronger, Baikal turns black, with
white crests of waves breaking. This wind blows up great waves in the southern part
of the lake.
The Gorny winds are the strongest mountain winds that are very dangerous for
lake navigation, they blow along the western shores, from west to northwest mainly
from the mountainous peaks of the Primorsky and Baikalsky ranges. They createmomentary winds reaching hurricane power and speeds of more than 91 mph
they spring up suddenly, with an unpredictable power.
Around the Olkhon Island region the Sarma winds are very strong, they have
gusts so strong they lift the roofs of houses, turn boats and launches over again
like the Gorny winds their gusts can reach 91 mph creating waves on the shore line
between 6.6 to 10 high and in the center of the lake up to 15 high.
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The air flowing out of Mongolia over the Khamar-Daban Range creates a mild-
mannered wind called the Shelonnik, flowing out of the southeast in the summer
its strength are moderate, reaching 24 mph, and have the possibility of reaching 46
mph in the autumn. They reach their maximum speed at the mouth of the Selenga
River and drop considerably in the Lakes southern basin it is a rare occasion do
they actually create storms in the southern region with waves of 6.6 feet. Thesewinds are known to bring in very clear weather.
Blowing from the northeast down the valley of the Barguzin is the Barguzin, a
typical autumn and winter wind, whereas in the open section of the lake can attain
speeds of 41 to 46 mph, and the storms whipped up by these winds can create
wave of 13.6 to 15.25 along the western shorelines in the areas of Olkhon and
Goloustnaya. The Barguzin, glorified in a folk song, blows from the valley of the
Barguzin River, across the lake. It was this wind that helped the legendary swimmer
cross Baikal in an Omul barrel.
Blowing in from the southwest along the entire length of the lake is the Kultuk
with a force equal to that of the Barguzins, when this wind is blowing in the entire
lake is disturbed, albeit the height of the wave seldom go over 6.6 feet, although in
selected zones in the north the waves can reach 9.5 feet in height. When the wind is
blowing, the weather gets dull, with low clouds, and Baikal becomes leaden-grey,
gloomy and stern. Waves created by this wind take their time in settling down.
The maximum wind recorded was in the Sarma River Valley at 113.3 mph.
The Lake Baikal region is often referred to as the museum of climates because
of its wild variations, created by the topology of the region and the mass of water
sitting in between it all. As noted, spring arrives a month later than in the Baikal
Territory, translation being July is not the warmest month but August with the warm
weather following into September. It is note that there is copious amounts of
sunshine in Baikal, more so than even the famous health resorts noted on the BlackSea in Goloustnoyhe they enjoy 2,583 hours of direct sunshine (about 30% of a full
year) and in Pvatigorski about 2,007 hours (22%).
As for precipitation the greatest amount falls near the southern end of the lake,
which on average is 20 per year in the northern section of the lake they receive
10.2 inches of the wetness.
Most visitors plan their travel to reach the Lake during the summer months when
Lake Baikal gives it all whereas the weather is unbeatable with the satiny
smoothness of the lake stretches beyond the horizon keep in mind that the water
can hardly be labeled warm. In the 2nd half of January the lake, as mentioned is
covered in ice 3.28 or more in thickness. During the Russo-Japanese war, when theice was more than 49 thick the railway track was laid straight over the ice, which
made it possible to haul 2,300 carriages and 65 locomotives across the lake by
horse power over a period of 17 days.
During the 17th and 18th Centuries it is well known that the principal Russian
interest in its eastern provinces, such as Siberia, was the fur trade whereas the
Cossack Promishlenike (fur trappers and traders) invaded the Lake Baikal region.
These early promishlenike, sacked the region of, on average 200,000 skins per year
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and in short time depleted the area of the valuable sable, early on the orders from
back west from Czar was the ukas that saved the sable from extinction in the Baikal
region. But it was their early adventures seeking what is known as limp lumber
that increased the attention of the Siberian West to the society of the east.
Albeit the population remained small, the limp lumber from the region prompted
the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway beginning in 1891, this preceded bythe Moscow highway in 1760 increased the migration of mainly northern Russian
peasants this migration soon expanded across all the Russian society soon after
the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed in 1916.
The Trans-Siberian Railway is an construction project that in its entirety competes
directly with some of our modern day projects, especially considering the tools the
engineers, and the construction crews had to work with and the elements they
faced along the 5,869 railway which by the way is the longest continuous railroad
in the world. Today, some stretches of the railroad bear the heaviest traffic of any
railroad in the world. It is important to remember that in those day most of the
line was constructed without any form of machinery and that in some areas the
permafrost had to be dynamited before any rails could be laid. The workers
suffered from flood, bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax, landslides, bandits, tigers and
the extreme cold. Before it was finished entire sections had to be rebuilt, and cost-
reduction such as using inexpensive light-weight rails led to many derailments.
One of the most challenging sections of the line was the 52.1 mile Circumbaikal
Railway (loop) in and around Lake Baikal, which some in society named The
Golden Buckle of the Great Siberian Trail. Albeit consisted of just 0.9% of the
Trans-Siberian Line it took over 4-years to finish, or about 15 feet per day. The
entire distance of 52.1 miles has 200 bridges and 33 tunnels, one section from
Kultuk to Port Baikal has 49-arches and tunnels albeit most of the tunnels are not
very long, although there are few tunnels whereas the passengers experience totaldarkness with the Polovynny Cape tunnel the longest at 2,887 feet history and
the passengers that ride this section regard the Golden Buckle as the museum of
Russian engineering, and one of the great pages in Modern Russian History.
The entire route around Lake Baikal is considered one of the most exotic sections
of the Trans-Siberian Railway, whereas the sacred lake with all its mystery and
awesome grandeur passes before the eyes of the passenger. On one side the rocks
reach for the sky and on the other a lake with its sparkling beauty framed by the
dove-colored mountains in the background, as the waves sometimes lick at the
wheels of the train as they speed along, the passenger gazes spell-bound
embracing a view most will only experience once in their lifetime.They sit and watch ancient crystal rocks, granite, gneiss, gabbro, diabase, all
possessing enormous strength where the steep rocky shores slip under the waters,
and wonder at the crews who were forced to make excavations and niches in the
rocky cliffs, and admire their stubborn ability in constructing the arches and tunnels
they are gliding through.
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The Trans-Siberian began to convert to electricity in 1927, with the last of the
famous steam engines retired in 1987 today the powerful ChS4T locomotives
weighting over 126 tons chew up the miles at 112 mph on some sections of the line.
Every second day, the 'Rossiya' ('Russia', train number 2 eastbound, train 1
westbound) leaves Moscow on its 7-day journey to Vladivostok. This is almost the
longest train ride of them all, 9,258 km or 6,152 miles. This train has 2nd class 4-
berth compartments called kup and 1st class 2-berth compartments called spalny
wagon or 'SV', plus a restaurant car.. One-way fares start at around 13,000 rubles
($450 or 280) [$423.12 on May 9th , 2010] in a 4-berth sleeper or 25,000 rubles($850 or 530) [$813.81 on May 9th, 2010] in a 2-berth
sleeper. http://www.seat61.com/Trans-Siberian.htm
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In conclusion, the Baikal basin represents a rather complicated formation on the Earths
surface that has been formed during a long geological period. Recent detailed analysis beneath
the lakes surface demonstrates that the process is not yet complete. The basin, enormous in
extent and depth represents the junction of three original troughs, the deep South and Middle
troughs and the relatively shallow North trough they are divided by prominent elevations of the
bottom, labeled the intra-depressional uplifts.
In the pre-baikalian period the underwater relief was not as contrasting as it is today, yet it was
still a mountain relief with its height not exceeding 984 to 1,640 above the bottom of the
basins, which surrounded these mountains. It is believed strongly that the original Baikal basin
was much shallower and narrower with some believing it was a river bed, with water following
through it from the uplands of Zabaikalia and Mongolia.
The basins beneath the waters today are thought to have been developed during different
epochs, growing and subsiding at time marched forward most think all taking place during the
Tertiary epoch. 65 to 1.8 million years ago. Whereas some imagine that the basins represent bed
of more or less large lakes connected by rivers and could have made up a system not unlike theGreat Lakes in North America.
There are varied opinions on the formation of Lake Baikal, investigators of the 18 th Century,
such as Ivan Chersky believed that the Baikal basin was a result of a slow transformation of the
folds in the Laurentian Rocks since then the assumptions made in the 18th Century have
changed and it was considered to be a large graben (a graben is a depressed block of land
bordered by parallel faults) whereas according to E. Zuss, it is a combination of two
grabens (originally divided by mountains) which extend from Olkhon Island to the
Svyatoy Nos Peninsula. Whereas Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev tells us that It is
deep, wide and its slopes are too steep and abrupt. Such a depression could be
formed solely by disjunctive crustal movements and is comparatively recent in age,otherwise its steep slopes would have been smoothed out owing to washout, and
the lake would have been filled with the slope products.
Ivanov V.D. believed that the uplift of the land in the form of a wide and flat arch,
where faults and individual block structures developed in places, was responsible
for the formation of the recent topography of Pribaikalia and Transbaikal. Whereas,
the Baikal and its basins resulted from subsidence of the high parts of the arch or
a geological rift basin.
Regardless, block tectonics appear to be the primary mechanism of the topologyof the Baikal mountain region and today geologists are of the opinion that thephenomena of earth curve, which form its folding, should be taken into account.
Such as noted in the thesis written by RNK Galina F. in 2000.Never-the-less unless youre a geologist, the structure beneath this magnificent
lake will not concern you as you stand on its shores, visualizing the ancients in their
craft taking their subsistence from its depths as their children play by its water,
laughing and carrying on as children of our society today. Your imagination will run
wild as you watch the sun rise about the hills to the east and set beyond the hills to
the west and you hear the voices of the people as they go about their daily survival
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Lake Baikal at its best.