Russia is home to Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest freshwater lake, reaching about 1,642 metres.
Baikal lies in southern Siberia between the Irkutsk Oblast and the Republic of Buryatia. It is also the world’s oldest existing freshwater lake, estimated at roughly 25 million years, and contains about one-fifth of the planet’s unfrozen surface freshwater. The lake formed in an active continental rift zone whose surrounding faults continue to produce earthquakes.
Baikal supports exceptional endemic biodiversity. The freshwater Baikal seal, or nerpa, is the only seal species living exclusively in fresh water. More than 300 rivers flow into the lake, while the Angara is its sole natural outflow. In winter, thick transparent ice can form distinctive blue cracks and bubbles, making the lake a major scientific and tourism destination.