Lake Baikal as a Natural Laboratory

Baikal is a rift lake occupying the largest basin in the Baikal rift system where volcanic eruptions ceased as late as thousands of years ago. According to paleolimnological evidence, the lake has existed in its present shape for “just” a few millions of years. The long history of Lake Baikal in an active tectonic area and its isolation produced exceptionally diverse and most unusual flora and fauna.

Besides the boundless water surface, Lake Baikal is a wonderful submarine world strikingly changing with depth. The species diversity of the Baikal fauna is comparable to that in hundreds and thousands of lakes in Eurasia. The lake is really the heart of Eurasian biodiversity, especially because about 60 % of its animal species are endemic, that is, they exist nowhere else.

More information on these and other subjects you can find in the printed version of our journal.