Lake Baikal World Heritage Site

Official name

Lake Baikal | UNESCO

Country

Russia | Map

Continent

Europe

Location

Irkutsk and Chita regions, Republic of Buryatia
53.1736° Lat, 107.6625° Lon | Map

Code

754

Time Zone

Europe/Moscow (MSK, +0300)

Current Time

Category

Natural

Description

Inscribed 1996. Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve. Known as the 'Galapagos of Russia', its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science.