What is the largest island in Lake Baikal?

The largest island in Lake Baikal is Olkhon Island. It lies near the lake’s western shore in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast and is separated from the mainland by the narrow Strait of Olkhon Gate and the Maloye More, or Small Sea.

Olkhon is about 72 kilometres long and up to 15 kilometres wide, with an area of roughly 730 square kilometres. Its landscape includes taiga, steppe, sandy beaches and steep cliffs. Mount Zhima, reaching about 1,276 metres, is the island’s highest point.

The island is geologically linked to the Primorsky Range and formed within the tectonically active Baikal Rift Zone. Lake Baikal itself is the world’s deepest lake and contains more unfrozen freshwater than any other lake, giving Olkhon an especially dramatic setting.

The alternatives describe islands in other famous lakes: Isle Royale is in Lake Superior, Ukerewe is in Lake Victoria, and Samosir is in Lake Toba. Olkhon is also culturally important to Buryat communities and is regarded as a sacred place.