# You'd think a lake that hold 20% of the world's fresh water would be better known! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 29, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153 "2008-07-29T22:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/1 "2008-07-29T22:17:58Z")
Now you know! [Lake Baikal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Baikal) > [@](#): > > Lake Baikal (Russian: о́зеро Байка́л Ozero Baykal, pronounced [ˈozʲɪrə bʌjˈkɑl], Buryat: Байгал нуур Baygal nuur) is in Southern Siberia in Russia, located between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk. It is also known as the “Blue Eye of Siberia”. It contains more water than all the North American Great Lakes combined. [1][2] > > At 1,680 meters (5,512 ft), Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world[3], and the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, holding approximately twenty percent of the world’s total surface fresh water.[4] Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed in an ancient rift valley and therefore is long and crescent-shaped with a surface area (31,500 km²) less than half that of Lake Superior or Lake Victoria. Baikal is home to more than 1,700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world[5] and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.[6] At more than 25 million years old, it is the oldest lake in the world.[4] ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/2 "2008-07-29T22:19:05Z")
I go by surface area, not volume. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/3 "2008-07-30T09:18:30Z")
And given the vast amount of pollution that was dumped into it during the Soviet days (and may still be dumping into it), I would hesitate to call it “fresh” water. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/4 "2008-07-30T09:22:07Z")
I knew of it as the deepest lake in the world and remembered that it was banana shaped, but I didn’t know the name nor that it held the “volume” record. _wonders vaguely when and for how long mankind has been to the bottom of the Baikal Lake…_ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/5 "2008-07-30T11:21:16Z")
The Russians always claim theirs is the biggest. They’re like Texans! Besides… Fresh? Jeez, the thing has been through 70 years of industrial communism. Is battery acid “fresh”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/6 "2008-07-30T12:12:29Z")
Didn’t it used to be much bigger? Didn’t I read that the Soviets drained away much of the water for failed irrigation projects? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/7 "2008-07-30T12:25:55Z")
You’re probably thinking of the Aral Sea. Although Baikal has suffered from the government’s depradations too. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/8 "2008-07-30T12:27:24Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] Didn’t it used to be much bigger? Didn’t I read that the Soviets drained away much of the water for failed irrigation projects? [/QUOTE] No, I think that was Lake Aral which had two rivers diverted away from it. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/9 "2008-07-30T12:30:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sage Rat] _wonders vaguely when and for how long mankind has been to the bottom of the Baikal Lake…_ [/QUOTE] Never, according to this [link](http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/30/baikal_record_claim/). (first thing I found on Google news) ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/10 "2008-07-30T13:01:22Z")
In Russia, lakes reach YOUR bottom for 20 minutes! ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/11 "2008-07-30T13:06:38Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] No, I think that was Lake Aral which had two rivers diverted away from it. [/QUOTE] Ah, thanks. I loaned out my copy of _The Great Lakes Water Wars_, it’s been over a year since I read it. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/12 "2008-07-30T14:02:16Z")
And here I thought Ricki Lake was the biggest lake. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/13 "2008-07-30T15:04:45Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] And here I thought Ricki Lake was the biggest lake. [/QUOTE] Yeah, but she is full of hot air, not fresh water. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/14 "2008-07-30T18:28:31Z")
[QUOTE=Philster] And here I thought Ricki Lake was the biggest lake. [/QUOTE] Joke of the day. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/15 "2008-07-30T19:18:33Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] The Russians always claim theirs is the biggest. They’re like Texans! Besides… Fresh? Jeez, the thing has been through 70 years of industrial communism. Is battery acid “fresh”? 😛 [/QUOTE] You might be surprised - I was actually on Lake Baikal in a boat (and in Lake Baikal in my swimsuit, but just for a couple of minutes - even in August, that lake is _cold!_) in 1995. Although there is a fairly large city (Irkutsk) on the shores of Lake Baikal, there is a fair amount of ecotourism in the area; our hotel had all signage translated into Japanese, for example. And the water was clear as glass; even 40 feet down, you could see every single pebble on the floor of the lake. The tour guide at the [Limnological Institute](http://www.lin.irk.ru/eng/about.htm) on the shores of the lake told us that there are something like 4,000 species in and around Lake Baikal, many of which (like freshwater seals) aren’t found anywhere else. Pretty cool, no? I suppose it’s possible the Russians have trashed the place since then, but even the Russians, as environmentally desctructive as some of their governmental ecological policies have been, didn’t manage to trash the entire country. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/16 "2008-07-30T20:28:50Z")
My parents just came back from a train trip across Russia which included a stop at Lake Baikal. Mom swam for about 45 minutes and only got out because lunch was served. My co-worker is Russian and says there was a big effort to clean up the lake, and the parents said it looked great. Oh, and they saw the seals too–Mom said they looked like balloons with faces, they were so round! [Hee hee.](http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10815/images/seal.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/17 "2008-07-30T20:35:09Z")
[QUOTE=Rayne Man] No, I think that was Lake Aral which had two rivers diverted away from it. [/QUOTE] Yes. The Amu Darya and Syr Drya were diverted. The town of Moynaq in Uzbekistan used to be on the shore and had a population of 60,000. Now the population is a few hundred and the water is more then 100 miles away. The old fishing fleet is resting in the sand. It is an other-worldly place. I was there in 1998… I am sure it is worse today. > **[Moynaq](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moynaq)** > > Moynaq, also spelled as Muynak (Karakalpak: Мойнақ, romanized: Moynaq; Uzbek: Moʻynoq; Russian: Муйнак, romanized: Muynak), is a city in northern Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in Uzbekistan. It is the seat of the Moynaq district. Formerly a sea port on the Aral Sea, it is now 150 km from the water in the Aralkum Desert and thus is a disaster tourism destination. It is also the location for the biggest electronic music festival in Central Asia. > Once a bustling fishing community and Uzbek... I’ve never been to Baikal… surely a much nicer place. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/18 "2008-07-30T20:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Oh, and they saw the seals too–Mom said they looked like balloons with faces, they were so round! [Hee hee.](http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10815/images/seal.jpg) [/QUOTE] I’m jealous! My group stupidly arranged for a huge motor boat, so I’m sure the noise scared the seals away. I’d love to go back sometime and try in a canoe, but when the hell am I going to be in that neck of the woods again? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/19 "2008-07-30T22:36:57Z")
I’d love to visit Lake Baikal, and take a dip. I’ve sailed and swum in all 5 Great Lakes, so that would be the crowning feature to top my freshwater list with! [showing off]And I’ve known about the lake, and its status as the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, for decades[/showing off] ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2008, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153/20 "2008-07-30T23:31:28Z")
Now I’m somewhat disenchanted with our “Great” Lakes. Maybe they should be called the Pretty Good Lakes [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youd-think-a-lake-that-hold-20-of-the-worlds-fresh-water-would-be-better-known/458153.md?page=2)