|
|||||
 Hi there! My name is Tatiana Baksheeva. I am based in Irkutsk City, Eastern Siberia, Russia. My mission is pretty simple. If you failed to find the information about Lake Baikal, the largest freshwater lake in the world, and its area, that you had been seeking for a long time on the web, feel free to request it from me via the contact form. To ask a local is much easier!.. |
 The Baikal Seal - Nerpa The Baikal Seal or nerpa is a unique animal of Lake Baikal. It’s the only mammal that lives in the lake. A lot of people go to the Baikal to see this charming creature. In summer, the seals like basking in the sunshine and you can see how variously they can behave. Like people, the Baikal Seals have different characters and temperaments.  Viktor Sokolov‘s Production Company has just created a fantastic slideshow video. Enjoy the nature of the gorgeous Lake Baikal in Russia’s Siberia.  Chersky Rock at Lake Baikal, Russia. Photo by Panoramio.com  Chersky Rock at Lake Baikal, Russia. Photo by Panoramio.com Lake Baikal is the oldest, the deepest and one of the most fascinating lakes of the world. Wherever you go at this charming lake, you will feel its spirit, spend a wonderful time and will be filled with its powerful positive energy! If you arrive in Irkutsk and you are limited in time or have limited budget, then it’s better to visit Listvyanka, which is situated on the shore of Lake Baikal, 70 km (44 mi) from Irkutsk. I decided to make a list of interesting events that happened at Lake Baikal in 2011. The Lake is very unique by itself, but there are a lot of people’s stories connected to its existence. A barrel floating on the sea In summer 2011 one retired man from Kultuk village decided to swim across Baikal in…a barrel. He was inspired to do such a heroic feat by an old song “Sacred sea, sacred Baikal,” in which the main hero – a state convict – swims across the lake in an omul barrel. Modern barrel was made in accordance of author’s drawings. The vessel consists of two sections – large wooden spools, on outer side of them pieces of foam and empty plastic bottles are fixed. There is a cabin with a table inside the barrel. However Nikolay Lupynin had more difficulties than his inspirer. The Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) prohibited this adventure, explaining that he must register the barrel as a vessel and pass through a technical inspection.  The barrel is ready. Photo taken from www.gazetairkutsk.ru Nilolay was not ready to such requirements and wrote a letter to Irkutsk Region Governor with a request for assistance and permit to swim. However, Nikolay didn’t get any answer. But the traveler is not discouraged, he is confident that the voyage will take place in summer 2012. By this time the retiree promises to fulfill all the demands of the MES and will sail according to the official rules.  2 comments - (Comments are closed)  Adventure, Event, Expeditions, Interesting People, Lake Baikal, News Here are some more beautiful Lake Baikal ice panoramas… You know. these pics really make me thinking about hiking on frozen Lake Baikal… What about you?  Scientists predict that Baikal will exist even when the face of our planet will change beyond recognition - and it's many thousands of years.  Locals call Lake Baikal – the Sea. Its length is 636 kilometers and its width is only 80 I found these amazing panoramas at the www.planetpics.ru and definitely wanted to share. The web-site is on Russian language, so I translated captions for pics. Enjoy!  Every year a solid ice cover binds waters of Lake Baikal. In this respect, Baikal is an exception among the larger lakes in the world. These panoramas were made by Andrey Kamenev at a -20C temperature  The temperature on Lake Baikal shores is higher than in neighboring cities - Irkutsk and Ulan-Ude. On average, it is-21C I’ve been recently asked if strong winds ever whip up giant waves on Lake Baikal and where on the lake would large waves be most likely to form. As in any lake, waves in Lake Baikal arise from the effects of wind on water, on the difference of atmospheric pressure on different parts of the valley, from earthquakes, from the tides, from undersea volcanic eruptions, from the vessels motion and other external forces.  Lake Baikal waves. Photo by http://baikali.ya.ru/  Lake Baikal waves. Photo by http://baikali.ya.ru/  Lake Baikal waves. Photo by http://baikali.ya.ru/ Waves on Lake Baikal may reach a height of 4 meters. Sometimes they evaluated as 5 and even 6 meters, but it is most likely an estimation “by eye”, which has a large error. Height of 4 meters obtained by instrumental measurements on the high seas. The waves are usually strong in autumn and spring, and even in winter before lake freezes. In the summer on Lake Baikal strong waves and storms are rare.
There are winds that blow along the valley, and also transverse winds, that associated with the atmospheric general circulation – transit and local. There are several strongest winds at Lake Baikal:
Almost every wind may cause strong waves, but the most severe is Mountain wind. It’s associated with largest disasters at Lake Baikal and is very dangerous for navigation, especially in the middle of the lake. In 2009 during the storm a ship was thrown to the coast, none of the four crew members were injured.
A young couple from Irkutsk decided to celebrate their wedding day … under water. The newlyweds wore a diving suits, special equipment and plunged into the lake near the village of Listvyanka to a depth of 10-12 meters, where they stayed for twenty minutes. Underwater newlyweds even opened a bottle of champagne. The groom was an initiator of such a non-traditional wedding. He is a professional diver. The bride was very supportive to his idea. He said that she was very happy because she had some diving experience at Lake Baikal. They made a video, and here are some shots from this video.
After the wedding the bride decided to enroll in diving more seriously. Oh, forgot to tell you – it happened on December 20th, the temperature outside was -15C. What do you think about this idea, dear Readers? Would you do the same? Even in June the Nerpa are found basking on ice floes. The water temperature by mid-June is normally only 4 degrees Centigrade (amazingly, millions of years ago Baikal was a warm swallow lake with tropical plants growing on its shores).  Nerpa at Ushkaniy Island, Photo courtesy Vasiliy Maslukov The bottom of the lake is composed of an extraordinarily thick layer ?? sediment. In some places the depth from surface to bedrock is more than 7 kilometres, or 7 times as deep as the Grand Canyon.  Lake Baikal shore stones. Photo courtesy Vasiliy Maslukov |
    |
|||
|
Copyright © 2012 AskBaikal.com - All Rights Reserved. This blog is a part of AskSiberia Network. |
|||||
Recent Comments