Lake Baikal

 Brief Description

Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve. Known as the 'Galapagos of Russia', its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science.

Russian Federation
Irkutsk and Chita regions, Republic of Buryatia
N53 10 25 E107 39 45
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Property : 8,800,000 ha
Ref: 754

Source: http://whc.unesco.org