Earth is a unique planet dominated by water. The continuous chain of the oceans surrounds it from all sides. However, there are also internal reservoirs surrounded by continental firmament from all sides. Among them are many surprising in their properties and characteristics of geographical objects. The main freshwater repository on Earth will be discussed in this article.
Geographical characteristics of the lake
The deepest lake in Eurasia, as well as other geographical objects of this type, are water bodies that appeared in natural depressions and are not connected with the World Ocean.
Scientists distinguish many types of lakes depending on their origin. Research results have shown that tectonic reservoirs are the largest. They are formed as a result of the mobility of the earth's crust, mainly in the places of its faults. That is why they differ in size and rocky shores. This type includes the deepest lake on the continent of Eurasia.
Volcanic lakes are reservoirs formed in the craters of volcanoes no longer active. The most famous representatives of this species are Java lakes.
Another type of lake by origin is glacial reservoirs. They are formed under the influence of glaciers on the earth's surface. Over time, glaciers wash the recesses in it, which are filled with water, and then become lakes.
Characteristic of Baikal
When passing the topic “Inland waters” in geography classes at school, the question “what lake is the deepest in Eurasia” certainly arises. When answering, one should mention its characteristics: area, volume, width, and also indicate the representatives of flora and fauna living in it. We indicate what is the deepest lake in Eurasia. Its name and depth is Baikal, 1642 m.
Let's move on to its detailed description. Baikal is one of the largest lakes in the world not only in depth, but also in total surface area, which is 32 thousand square km. The age of the reservoir has not yet been determined reliably. Estimated data - from 25 to 35 million years.
As mentioned above, Baikal is a unique storage of fresh water, the largest on Earth. Its volume allows you to accommodate 19% of all world reserves of this natural resource. Such reserves will be enough for mankind for 40 years, and thanks to the long coastline, more than 50 thousand people can drink water from the lake at the same time.
The purity of Baikal is impressive: large stones can be seen at a depth of about 40 m, and the amount of mineral salts contained in its waters is extremely small. In addition, the oxygen content is high both at the depth and near the surface of the lake, because of which many endemic species of plants and animals live in it.
Interesting facts about Baikal
The deepest lake in Eurasia is constantly fueled by 336 rivers and streams. It should be noted that all rivers flow into Lake Baikal, and only one flows from it - this is the Angara.
The lake is full of mysteries. One of them is the ice rings of Lake Baikal. Some of them are so large that their existence was established only with the development of space technology. Satellite images showed that the ice rings, the so-called “hills”, are about 5-7 km in diameter. They do not appear every year and in different places of the reservoir. It is especially interesting that the ice in these rings is not transparent, but has a dark gray tint. Scientists suggest that this natural phenomenon is due to gas emissions from the bottom of Lake Baikal.
The territory on which the deepest lake of Eurasia and the world is located is a seismically active zone. No wonder the lake belongs to the category of tectonic origin. The mobility of the earth's crust in this area is very high, which often leads to earthquakes. As a rule, their strength does not exceed 1-2 points, but there are exceptions. So, in 1862 there was a ten-point Kudarin earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 1300 people.
Fauna of the lake
The deepest lake in Eurasia is unique in its fauna. The variety of animal species that live in the area is huge. Among them, the seal, the mammal that usually does not live in fresh water, stands out. Another living creature is a small golomyanka fish, a body that contains about 30% fat. It migrates daily from the lake depths to shallow water. The epishura crustacean is a “filter” of Baikal. It cleans water of all kinds of garbage, so it remains so clean.
Baikal research
Scientists from the second half of the XX century are trying to explore the bottom of the lake. Since 1977, several dives of the Paisys manned apparatus were carried out, which ultimately succeeded - in 1991 the device reached the bottom of the reservoir.
Other research expeditions were also organized. Their goal was to study the bottom of Lake Baikal, for which 52 dives of the Mir apparatus were made.
The legend of Baikal
The deepest lake in Eurasia, of course, gathered around itself a lot of rumors and legends. The most famous myth of the pond is a story about why all the rivers flow into it, and only one flows away. It is said that in ancient times, the beautiful Angara was the daughter of the formidable Baikal. Father loved her and in every way the shore. But soon Angara fell in love with the beautiful Yenisei and ran to him. An angry Baikal hit the mountain, which split and fell on his daughter's throat. Later, a fragment of this rock was called a Shaman stone. The pagans made rich sacrifices there and performed rituals in order to appease the gods.