d most ancient lakes of the world. It is situated almost in the centre of Asia. Lake Baikal is a gigantic bowl set 445 meter above sea level. The lake covers 31,500 square km. It is 636 km long and an average of 48 km wide. The widest point of the lake is 79.4 km. The water basin occupies 557000 square km. and contains 23000 cu. km. (cubic kilometer) of water, which is about one fifth of the world's reserve fresh surface water. The average water level in the lake is never higher than 456m. The average depth of Lake Baikal is 730 m. and its maximum depth in the middle is 1.620 m. There are hot springs in the surrounding area of Lake Baikal. The quality of the water of these springs is excellent. The lake acts as a powerful generatorand bio-filter producing this water. Baikal is a stormy lake. Autumn is the most stormy time. The wind blows from various directions. The weather depends on the wind. If it is blowing from the north, the weather is bright and sunny. The water of the lake looks green and dark blue. But if the winds get stronger, Baikal turns black, waves rising high with white crest. The beauty of Lake Baikal is exceptional.
