Sights in Irkutsk

Lake Baikal

Lena Plyusnina

Lake Baikal is situated in the south of East Siberia. The deepest lake in the world - 1637 m, has unique features: its area is 35 000 km2 and approximate is equal to Belgium's territory. No other lake can be compared with Lake Baikal in age, reserves and properties of water.Scientists estimate an age of Lake Baikal as 25 - 30 million years. Most of lakes, especially appeared in the ice age, exist for 10 - 15 thousands years and then are filled up with sediments and disappear from the surface of the Earth. Lake Baikal has no signs of aging, like other lakes. On the contrary, after researches goephysicists said, that Lake Baikal is a conceiving ocean.

Among other places of interest one can name more than 2 thousand monuments and memorial zones of history and architecture, 10 archaeological monuments, 8 museums, and 5 theatres.