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heep and horses 16 on the eastern side of the lake within buryatia 17 where the mean temperature varies from a winter minimum of 19 c 2 f to a summer maximum of 14 c 57 f 18 the region to the east of lake baikal is referred to as transbaikalia or as the transbaikal 19 and the loosely defined region around the lake itself is sometimes known as baikalia unesco declared baikal a world heritage site in 1996 20 geography and hydrography edit the yenisey basin which includes lake baikal lake baikal is in a rift valley created by the baikal rift zone where the earth s crust is slowly pulling apart 6 at 636 km 395 mi long and 79 km 49 mi wide lake baikal has the largest surface area of any freshwater lake in asia at 31 722 km 2 12 248 sq mi and is the deepest lake in the world at 1 642 metres 5 387 feet 898 fathoms the surface of the lake is 455 5 m 1 494 ft above sea level while the bottom of the lake is 1 186 5 m 3 893 ft 648 8 fathoms below sea level and below this lies some 7 km 4 3 mi of sediment placing the rift floor some 8 11 km 5 0 6 8 mi below the surface the deepest continental rift on earth 6 in geological terms the rift is young and active it widens about 4 mm 0 16 in per year 21 the fault zone is also seismically active hot springs occur in the area and notable earthquakes happen every few years the lake is divided into three basins north central and south with depths about 900 m 3 000 ft 1 600 m 5 200 ft and 1 400 m 4 600 ft respectively fault controlled accommodation zones rising to depths of 300 m 980 ft separate the basins the north and central basins are separated by academician ridge while the area around the selenga delta and the buguldeika saddle separates the central and south basins the lake drains into the angara a tributary of the yenisey landforms include cape ryty on baikal s northwest coast baikal s age is estimated at 25 30 million years making it the most ancient lake in geological history 12 13 it is unique among large high latitude lakes as its sediments have not been scoured by overriding continental ice sheets russian u s and japanese cooperative studies of deep drilling core sediments in the 1990s provide a detailed record of climatic variation over the past 6 7 million years 22 23 longer and deeper sediment cores are expected in the near future needs update lake baikal is the only confined freshwater lake in which direct and indirect evidence of gas hydrates exists 24 25 26 the lake is surrounded by mountains the baikal mountains on the north shore the barguzin range on the northeastern shore and the primorsky range stretching along the western shore the mountains and the taiga are protected as a national park it contains 27 islands the largest olkhon is 72 km 45 mi long and is the third largest lake bound island in the world the lake is fed by as many as 330 inflowing rivers 27 the main rivers draining directly into baikal are the selenga the barguzin the upper angara the turka the sarma and the snezhnaya it is drained through a single outlet the angara regular winds exist in baikal s rift valley 28 water characteristics edit lake baikal s water is especially clear baikal is one of the clearest lakes in the world 14 during the winter the water transparency in open sections can be as much as 30 40 m 100 130 ft but during the summer it is typically 5 8 m 15 25 ft 29 baikal is rich in oxygen even in deep sections 29 which separates it from distinctly stratified bodies of water such as lake tanganyika and the black sea 30 31 in lake baikal the water temperature varies significantly depending on location depth and time of the year during the winter and spring the surface freezes for about 4 5 months from early january to early may june latest in the north the lake surface is covered in ice 32 on average the ice reaches a thickness of 0 5 to 1 4 m 1 6 4 6 ft 33 but in some places with hummocks it can be more than 2 m 6 6 ft 32 during this period the temperature slowly increases with depth in the lake being coldest near the ice covered surface at around freezing and reaching about 3 5 3 8 c 38 3 38 8 f at a depth of 200 250 m 660 820 ft 34 after the surface ice breaks up the surface water is slowly warmed by the sun and in may june the upper 300 m 980 ft becomes homothermic same temperature throughout at around 4 c 39 f because of water mixing 29 34 the sun continues to heat up the surface layer and at the peak in august can reach up to about 16 c 61 f in the main sections 34 and 20 24 c 68 75 f in shallow bays in the southern half of the lake 29 35 during this time the pattern is inverted compared to the winter and spring as the water temperature falls with increasing depth as the autumn begins the surface temperature falls again and a second homothermic period at around 4 c 39 f of the upper circa 300 m 980 ft occurs in october november 29 34 in the deepest parts of the lake from about 300 m 980 ft the temperature is stable at 3 1 3 4 c 37 6 38 1 f with only minor annual variations 34 the average surface temperature has risen by almost 1 5 c 2 7 f in the last 50 years resulting in a shorter period when the lake is covered by ice 13 at some locations hydrothermal vents with water that is about 50 c 122 f have been found these are mostly in deep water but locally have also been found in relatively shallow water they have little effect on the lake s temperature because of its huge volume 34 stormy weather on the lake is common especially during the summer and autumn and can result in waves as high as 4 5 m 15 ft 29 lake baikal as seen from the orbview 2 satellite spring ice melt underway on lake baikal on 4 may 2012 b ice cover survey on the lake circle of thin ice diameter of 4 4 km 2 7 mi at the lake s southern tip probably caused by convection delta of the selenga river baikal s main tributary ecology edit the baikal seal is endemic to lake baikal lake baikal is rich in biodiversity it hosts more than 1 000 species of plants and 2 500 species of animals based on current knowledge but the actual figures for both groups are believed to be significantly higher 29 flora edit the watershed of lake baikal has numerous floral species represented the marsh thistle cirsium palustre is found here at the eastern limit of its geographic range 36 submerged macrophytic vascular plants are mostly absent except in some shallow bays along the shores of lake baikal 37 more than 85 species of submerged macrophytes have been recorded including genera such as ceratophyllum myriophyllum potamogeton and sparganium 35 the invasive species elodea canadensis was introduced to the lake in the 1950s 37 instead of vascular plants aquatic flora is often dominated by several green algae species notably draparnaldioides tetraspora and ulothrix in water shallower than 20 m 65 ft although aegagrophila cladophora and draparnaldioides may occur deeper than 30 m 100 ft 37 except for ulothrix these green algae genera contain species endemic to baikal 37 more than 400 diatom species both benthic and planktonic are found in the lake and about half of these are endemic to baikal however significant taxonomic uncertainties remain for this group 37 mammals edit baikal seal the baikal seal or nerpa pusa sibirica is endemic to lake baikal 38 a wide range of land mammals can be found in the habitats around the lake such as the brown bear ursus arctos eurasian wolf canis lupus lupus red fox vulpes vulpes sable martes zibellina stoat mustela erminea least weasel mustela nivalis eurasian otter lutra lutra snow leopard panthera uncia siberian tiger panthera tigris tigris amur leopard panthera pardus orientalis moose alces alces elk cervus canadensis reindeer rangifer tarandus siberian roe deer capreolus pygargus siberian musk deer moschus moschiferus wild boar sus scrofa red squirrel sciurus vulgaris siberian chipmunk eutamias sibiricus marmots marmota sp lemmings lemmus sp and mountain hare lepus timidus 39 until the early middle ages populations of the european bison bison bonasus were found near the lake this represented the easternmost range of the species 40 birds edit mongolian gulls on baikal there are 236 species of birds that inhabit lake baikal 29 of which are waterfowl 41 although named after the lake both the baikal teal and baikal bush warbler are widespread in eastern asia 42 43 fish edit two species of grayling thymallus baikalensis and t brevipinnis are found only in baikal and rivers that drain into the lake 44 45 fewer than 65 native fish species occur in the lake basin but more than half of these are endemic 29 46 the families abyssocottidae deep water sculpins comephoridae golomyankas or baikal oilfish and cottocomephoridae baikal sculpins are entirely restricted to the lake basin 29 47 all these are part of the cottoidea and are typically less than 20 cm 8 in long 37 of particular note are the two species of golomyanka comephorus baicalensis and c dybowskii these long finned translucent fish typically live in open water at depths of 100 500 m 330 1 640 ft but occur both shallower and much deeper together with certain abyssocottid sculpins they are the deepest living freshwater fish in the world occurring near the bottom of lake baikal 48 the golomyankas are the primary prey of the baikal seal and represent the largest fish biomass in the lake 49 beyond members of cottoidea there are few endemic fish species in the lake basin 29 46 the omul coregonus migratorius is endemic to lake baikal and is a source of income to locals the most important local species for fisheries is the omul coregonus migratorius an endemic whitefish 29 it is caught smoked and then sold widely in markets around the lake also a second endemic whitefish inhabits the lake c baicalensis 50 the baikal black grayling thymallus baicalensis baikal white grayling t brevipinnis and baikal sturgeon acipenser baerii baicalensis are other important species with commercial value they are also endemic to the lake baikal basin 44 45 51 52 invertebrates edit the lake hosts a rich endemic fauna of invertebrates among the most diverse invertebrate groups are the amphipod and ostracod crustaceans freshwater snails annelid worms and turbellarian worms crustaceans edit brachyuropus reicherti acanthogammaridae giant amphipod caught during ice fishing in the lake this species is naturally red orange in color more than 350 species and subspecies of amphipods are endemic to the lake 53 they are exceptionally diverse in ecology and appearance ranging from the pelagic macrohectopus to the relatively large deep water abyssogammarus and garjajewia the tiny herbivorous micruropus and the parasitic pachyschesis parasitizing other amphipods 54 the gigantism of some baikal amphipods which has been compared to that seen in antarctic amphipods has been linked to the high level of dissolved oxygen in the lake 55 among the giants are several species of spiny acanthogammarus and brachyuropus acanthogammaridae found at both shallow and deep depths 56 these conspicuous and common amphipods are essentially carnivores will also take detritus and can reach a body length up to 7 cm 2 8 in 54 56 another common species is another unique inhabitant of the lake the pelagic amphipod macrohectopus branickii lives its entire life in the water column which is unique among freshwater amphipods and has been compared to krill 57 the number of isopods is low all belonging to the family asellidae there are four species of the genus baicalasellus and the two species mesoasellus dybowskii and limnoasellus poberezhnii 58 59 these six endemic species are found on rocky substrata in depths varying from 3 10 meters baicalasellus angarensis to more than hundred meters mesoasellus dybowskii 60 epischurella baikalensis epischurella baikalensis is a copepod endemic to the lake being a very abundant species there it was estimated that they make up 80 to 90 of the total biomass 61 62 it is estimated that as a species they filter as much as a thousand cubic kilometers of water a year or the lake s entire volume every twenty three years 63 there are about 60 known species of native cladocerans water fleas several of them endemic 64 similar to another ancient lake tanganyika baikal is a center for ostracod diversity about 90 of the lake baikal ostracods are endemic 65 meaning that there are around 200 endemic species 66 this makes it the second most diverse group of crustacean in the lake after the amphipods 65 the vast majority of the baikal ostracods belong to the families candonidae more than 100 described species and cytherideidae about 50 described species 65 67 but genetic studies indicate that the true diversity in at least the latter family has been heavily underestimated 68 the morphology of the baikal ostracods is highly diverse 65 snails and bivalves edit as of 2006 update almost 150 freshwater snails are known from lake baikal including 117 endemic species from the subfamilies baicaliinae part of the amnicolidae and benedictiinae part of the lithoglyphidae and the families planorbidae and valvatidae 69 all endemics have been recorded between 20 and 30 metres 66 and 98 ft but the majority mainly live at shallower depths 69 about 30 freshwater snail species can be seen deeper than 100 m 330 ft which represents the approximate limit of the sunlight zone but only ten are truly deepwater species 69 in general baikal snails are thin shelled and small two of the most common species are benedictia baicalensis and megalovalvata baicalensis 70 bivalve diversity is lower with more than 30 species about half of these all in the families euglesidae pisidiidae and sphaeriidae are endemic the only other family in the lake is the unionidae with a single nonendemic species 70 71 the endemic bivalves are mainly found in shallows with few species from deep water 72 aquatic worms edit with almost 200 described species including more than 160 endemics the center of diversity for aquatic freshwater oligochaetes is lake baikal 73 a smaller number of other freshwater annelids is known 30 species of leeches hirudinea 74 and 4 polychaetes 73 several hundred species of nematodes are known from the lake but a large percentage of these are undescribed 73 museum specimen of the branching sponge lubomirskia baicalensis living are brighter green more than 140 endemic flatworm plathelminthes species are in lake baikal where they occur on a wide range of bottom types 75 most of the flatworms are predatory and some are relatively brightly marked they are often abundant in shallow waters where they are typically less than 2 cm 1 in long but in deeper parts of the lake the largest baikaloplana valida can reach up to 30 cm 1 ft when outstretched 37 75 sponges edit at least 18 species of sponges occur in the lake 76 including about 15 species from the endemic family lubomirskiidae the remaining are from the nonendemic family spongillidae 77 78 which colonized the lake about 3 4 million years ago the lake s sponges makes up around 44 of the b...