Lake Baikal summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Lake Baikal.

Lake Baikal, Russian Ozero Baykal, Lake, southern Siberia, Russia, in Asia. With a length of 395 mi (636 km) long and an area of some 12,200 sq mi (31,500 sq km), it is the largest freshwater basin in Eurasia. It is also the deepest continental body of water on Earth (5,315 ft [1,620 m]), containing one-fifth of the fresh water on Earth’s surface. More than 330 rivers and streams flow into it; on its east it receives the Barguzin and Selenga rivers, and most of its outflow is through the Angara at the northern end. The island of Olkhon is in its centre. Plant and animal life are rich and various; at least 1,500 species are unique to the lake. Growing industrialization along its shores has produced threatening pollution. In 1996 the Lake Baikal Coastal Protection Zone was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Siberia Summary

Siberia, vast region of Russia and northern Kazakhstan, constituting all of northern Asia. Siberia extends from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east and southward from the Arctic Ocean to the hills of north-central Kazakhstan and the borders of Mongolia and China. All but

Russia Summary

Russia, country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Once the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.; commonly known as the Soviet Union), Russia became an independent country after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December

World Heritage site Summary

World Heritage site, any of various areas or objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. The sites are designated as having “outstanding universal value” under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural

Lake Ann in North Cascades National Park, Washington

lake Summary

Lake, any relatively large body of slowly moving or standing water that occupies an inland basin of appreciable size. Definitions that precisely distinguish lakes, ponds, swamps, and even rivers and other bodies of nonoceanic water are not well established. It may be said, however, that rivers and