There are places on our planet that can rightfully be considered the greatest creatures of nature. Among them, the majestic Lake Baikal, which locals even call the sea, occupies a special place. Its surroundings are very beautiful: many interesting plants grow here. And some of the animals that live nearby are nowhere else on the planet. True, some of them, unfortunately, are close to extinction.
The nature reserves and national parks of Lake Baikal, organized in most of the territory adjacent to the lake, help protect and preserve all this pristine and sometimes rare fauna and flora.
The most famous lake in Russia
In Russia, Baikal does not know about Lake, probably only lazy. However, all over the world this natural site is quite famous.
It is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, near the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. Baikal nature reserves, photos of which only partially convey the beauty of these places, are located here.
The total area of the named reservoir reaches almost 32 thousand square kilometers. This territory is commensurate with countries such as the Netherlands or Belgium! Can you imagine how big Baikal is? In length, the lake stretched for 620 kilometers, and at the same time from space it looks almost like a crescent.
According to scientists, the age of Lake Baikal is more than 20 million years. As a rule, lakes formed during the ice age exist only for about 15 thousand years, and then slowly disappear from the surface of the planet. However, Baikal, which has turned into a reserve, still does not show any signs of aging. Moreover, scientists have suggested that the lake may well be a nascent ocean.
What is Baikal famous for
However, not only due to its impressive size and unusually ancient age, Baikal is famous. It is known throughout the world as the deepest lake. And this is not surprising, because the maximum distance in it from the surface of the water to the bottom is 1,642 meters! For comparison, another deepest lake called "Tanganyika" boasts a depth of only 1470 meters.
Even Baikal is very clean, and for this it was even recognized as the purest storage of fresh water on Earth.
Amazing nature of Baikal nature reserves
Wonderful and nature, among which is located this magnificent lake. Near it and under the thickness of its purest water, about 600 species of various plants grow. The fauna of Lake Baikal is also replete with diversity: there are more than 2000 species of them here. However, most of the local flora and fauna can be found only here.
For example, seal, or Baikal seal, is an amazing animal of Baikal. He is the only representative of aquatic mammals here, and his closest relatives live in the Caspian and northern seas, as well as in Lake Ladoga.
Bright representatives of the Baikal fauna are sable, badger, brown bear, ermine, chipmunk, weasel and wolverine. Here you can also find a huge number of birds, especially waterfowl. Indeed, for example, numerous swans, ducks, gulls, geese and even gray herons with pleasure fly to such a huge body of water.
Conservation areas of Baikal
In order to preserve the magnificent flora and fauna, special conservation areas have been created here.
Among them there are several reserves and two national parks. The Baikal Nature Reserve is represented by three separate territories located in different parts of the lake. Their main task is to protect endangered and rare species of animals and plants, as well as providing them with the best conditions for reproduction.
Baikal reserves
There are as many as six reserves on the territory of Lake Baikal. Each of them is called upon to preserve or restore natural complexes and maintain the ecological balance throughout its territory.
The oldest of them is the Kabansky nature reserve, founded in 1967. It is located in a river delta called the Selenga, on the eastern shore of the lake. Its purpose is to protect waterfowl and the places in which they live. In 1975, the Stepnodvoretsky Nature Reserve was established, which is also located on the eastern shore. It is intended to preserve and reproduce Siberian roe deer and other animals.
The Verkhneangarsk reserve was founded in 1979 on the northern shore of Lake Baikal, in the eastern part of the Upper Angara delta. His mission is to protect the waterfowl living on its territory. In the Pribaikalsky district on the eastern coast of the lake in 1981, the Pribaikalsky reserve appeared, which should restore and preserve the number of wild animals.
In 1988, the northeastern coast of Lake Baikal became the territory of the Frolykhinsky Reserve, which should also support the number of animals living here. The most recent in 1995, the Enheluk Nature Reserve was created on the part of the eastern shore of the lake. Its task was the reproduction, conservation and restoration of animals and birds, which are valued culturally, scientifically and economically.
National Parks on the Lake
First of all, Pribaikalsky National Park appeared on Lake Baikal. It was organized in February 1986, and today its territory is 418 thousand ha. It includes the entire western coast of the lake, starting from the extreme southern point to the Small Sea to the Heirem River, which is the southern border of another protected area called the Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve. The famous island of Olkhon also belongs to Baikal.
Most of this territory is covered by forests. Flora and fauna of the Pribaikalsky park has more than 500 different species. Some of the animals living here are listed in the Red Book, and plants are very rare species that are under special protection.
In September of the same year, another national park was founded - Zabaykalsky, whose area is 270 thousand hectares. It occupies the eastern coast of the lake, in the south it is bordered by the Barguzin River. This park is adjacent to the territory called "Barguzinsky Reserve". On Lake Baikal, the park includes the Holy Nose Peninsula, Chivyrkuisky Bay, the Ushkany Islands archipelago and even part of the lake.
The main reason for the creation of this park was the protection of the nature of Transbaikalia, including the Baikal seal, which likes to arrange rookeries on the Ushkany Islands, and waterfowl that live on Lake Arangatui.
Magnificent Baikal reserves
Due to such a large number of specially protected areas, Lake Baikal itself can be preserved almost in its original form. The reserve is a place where the strictest protection regime operates, therefore hunting, deforestation, gathering plants, berries and mushrooms and mining is prohibited in any such territory. The reserve is also a real scientific base where animals are studied and scientific materials are collected.
All these territories are protected in a special way, because on each of them under close supervision are both individual plants and animals, and the whole nature. To get to the reserves of Baikal, you need to get permission from the administration, and this measure is justified.
Barguzinsky Reserve
There is a nature reserve on the lake, which is one of the oldest in Russia. It was created in May 1916 in order to maintain and restore the sable population. Its territory covers 374 thousand hectares and is located near the western slopes of the Barguzinsky ridge on the eastern coast of Lake Baikal.
The Barguzinsky reserve is a real standard of nature and consists directly of the reserve itself and the biosphere testing ground. Most of the local area is covered mainly with dense forests and magnificent alpine meadows. Rocks also occupy a lot of space, even swamps are found. A large number of rare and even listed in the Red Book representatives of the animal world lives in this territory. In the Barguzinsky nature reserve, as many as 11 rivers flow into Baikal. There are also unique thermal springs, the water in which is heated to 70 degrees and above.
Huge crowds of tourists try to get here every year, but almost the entire territory of the reserve is closed to them. For parking in designated areas here you need a special permission of the Directorate. It can be organized only on one of the cordons. They are located in Sosnovka Bay, on the capes of Kabaniy and Shegnand, and also just one kilometer north of the mouth of the Bolshaya River.
And on the territory of the biosphere landfill, limited by the mouths of two rivers - Kabanya and Shegnanda - you can stop practically without prohibitions.
By the way, in the village of Dashva, related to the reserve, there is a museum of nature. Any tourist can freely visit it.
Baikal Reserve
The Baikal Reserve located on its southeast coast does not have direct access to the great lake. Baikal is separated from it by railways and highways, which were laid not far from the coast near the northern border of the reserve. It was founded in September 1969, and the area of its territory is almost 166 thousand hectares.
There is a Baikal reserve in the central part of the ridge called Hamar-Daban. About 30 rivers flow here; bears, wolves, foxes and sables live. Also here you can find many animals that are listed in the Red Book: black stork, crested beetle, otter, humpback toucan and reindeer.
Baikal-Lensky Reserve
The largest territory, comprising 659 thousand ha, is occupied by the Baikal-Lensky Reserve. Baikal sheltered it on its northwestern coast, in the Olkhonsky and Kachugsky districts of the Irkutsk region. This conservation area is the youngest since it was created only in December 1986.
This reserve contains several famous sights of Lake Baikal: craters of several ancient volcanoes, a cape called Ryty and the sources of the Lena River. Also, this area is replete with bears, there is even a whole Coast of brown bears, located between two capes: the Dead and Elokhin. Toes come here after awakening from hibernation in order to properly refresh themselves. Here you can also meet wolves, lynxes and deer, as well as a rather rare black-caped groundhog.
Amazingly beautiful nature and unique wildlife are the two main reasons why you should come to Lake Baikal at least once in your life. The reserve of Russia, and one of the most important, with this title you can safely endow the entire local territory. Only under close protection and thanks to the care of each person can these places be preserved in their original form.