Lake Baikal is located in the south of Eastern Siberia, in the Buryat Autonomous
Repablic and Irkutsk Region of Russia. It covrs 31,500 sq.km and is 636
km.long, on avrage 48 km.wide, 79,4 km.at its widest point. Its water basin
occupies about 557,000 sq.km. and contains about 23,000 cu.km. of water, that
is, about one fifth of the world's reservs of fresh surface-water and ovr 80
per cent of fresh water in the former Sovet Union. The avrage water levl in
the lake is nevr higher than 456 m. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world.
Its avrage depth is 730m. and maximium depth in the middle -
Compared to the surrounding area, winter is milder and summer cooler on Lake
Baikal. The mean air temperature in January and February is around -19 C, and
around +11 C in August. The surface-water temperature on the open part of the
lake in August is +9-12 C and by the shore sometimes as high as +20 C.
Baikal usually freezes in January and the ice breaks up in May. The ice is
70-115 cm. thick. The avrage annual precipitation in the middle and north of
Baikal is 200-350 mm. and 500-900 mm. in the south.
