Russia. Lake Baikal

Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Property : 8800000.0000 ha
Irkutsk and Chita regions, Republic of Buryatia
N53 10 25 E107 39 45
Ref: 754

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. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/754

Thanks to Alisa and Nadya!