Baikal

Baikal, a large fresh-water lake in the government of Irkutsk, Siberia, Asiatic Russia (lat. 53° N, long. 108° E.). Its greatest length from S.W. to N.E. is 397 miles, and it varies in breadth from 13 to 54 miles. Lying in the midst of the Baikal range, an offshoot of the Altai system, it has very precipitous shores. Its water is remarkably clear and deep, and fish are plentiful, especially sturgeon, sterlet, and salmon. Numerous rivers flow into the lake, but the only outlet is the Lower Agara, a tributary of the Yenesei, which issues from the lower extremity near the town of Irkutsk. There are several islands, the largest, Olkhon, being 32 miles long by 10 miles broad. Though dangerous, like all mountain lakes, it is navigated in summer, and forms an important link in the communication between Russia and China, and also between the adjacent districts. In winter, which lasts for eight months, it is frozen over so as to admit of traffic over the ice.