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Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey brain Stuff,

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Speaker 1: Lauren folk Bomb Here. The Siberia's Lake Vical is not

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Speaker 1: your average lake. At forty nine miles wide by three

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Speaker 1: nine miles long, that's seventy nine by six and thirty

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Speaker 1: five kilometers, it's the world's largest freshwater lake, and with

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Speaker 1: history that dates back twenty five million years, it's also

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Speaker 1: Earth's oldest. But size and age aren't the only things

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Speaker 1: that make this lake special. Lake by Caw is also

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Speaker 1: home to more than three thousand, seven hundred different species,

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Speaker 1: many of which are only found in the Bycal region.

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Speaker 1: That's why Lake Bycal is often considered the Galapagos of Russia. Now,

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Speaker 1: in case it's biodiversity doesn't dazzle you, here's another peculiar fact.

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Speaker 1: Lake Baikal has its own version of the Lockness Monster.

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Speaker 1: Its name apparently translates to water Dragon Master, and it's

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Speaker 1: just arrived as a giant sturgeon with a prominent stout

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Speaker 1: and armored plating along the back. The monster's history goes

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Speaker 1: back centuries, with ancient carvings depicting this terrifying creature. Interest peaked,

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Speaker 1: we thought, so here's a starter guide to this ancient,

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Speaker 1: beautiful and mysterious lake, which is by the way, a

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Speaker 1: UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lake Baikal is located in southern Russia,

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Speaker 1: near the border of Mongolia. Its depth of five thousand,

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Speaker 1: three hundred feet about one thousand, six hundred meters makes

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Speaker 1: it the world's deepest lake by about five hundred feet

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Speaker 1: or two hundred meters. It's also famous for its clarity

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Speaker 1: of water and ice. When the lake is frozen, you

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Speaker 1: can see dozens of meters or hundreds of feet down

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Speaker 1: and as we set at the top. It's also the

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Speaker 1: world's largest lake. That size a twelve thousand, two hundred

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Speaker 1: square miles or thirty one thousand, six hundred square kilometers

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Speaker 1: makes it comparable in volume to the entire Amazon Basin

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Speaker 1: first scale, it reportedly takes about three d and thirty

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Speaker 1: years for a single water molecule to flow from inlet

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Speaker 1: to inlet. So how did Lake by Cal get so massive?

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Speaker 1: About million years ago, Lake bi Cal formed through fractures

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Speaker 1: and shifting within Earth's crust. It wasn't Lake by Cal

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Speaker 1: as we know it now, though experts believe it was

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Speaker 1: a series of lakes. Is similar to the Great Lakes

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Speaker 1: in the United States. While scientists aren't positive how Lake

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Speaker 1: by Caw went from many lakes to the behemoth it

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Speaker 1: is today, they do have theories. It could have been

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Speaker 1: sinking earth erosion, earthquakes, or increased water from melting glaciers,

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Speaker 1: although it's likely a mix of these factors and more.

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Speaker 1: That unifying change took place in the Poli Scene epoch

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Speaker 1: about five point three to two point five million years ago.

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Speaker 1: But this lake isn't finished growing. It's expanding at a

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Speaker 1: rate of about point seven inches or two centimeters every year,

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Speaker 1: the same speed at which Africa and South America are

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Speaker 1: drifting apart. At this speed, some scientists believe Lake by

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Speaker 1: Caw is actually an ocean in the making. The lake

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Speaker 1: boasts twenty seven islands, the largest of which spans two

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Speaker 1: hundred and eighties square miles or seven square kilometers and

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Speaker 1: has its own lake mountains and the population of undred residents.

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Speaker 1: The locals connected to power via an underwater cable in

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Speaker 1: two thousand five, and we're connected to the Internet shortly after.

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Speaker 1: Some call Lake by Caw the Galapagos of Russia, not

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Speaker 1: only because it has an impressive array of those nearly

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Speaker 1: four thousand species, but also because of those animals are

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Speaker 1: found nowhere else. One reason for this unique biodiversity is

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Speaker 1: the lake's array of hydrothermal vents, which are commonly found

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Speaker 1: in oceans, but Lake by Caw is the only freshwater

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Speaker 1: lake known to have them. Cold water from the lake

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Speaker 1: enters cracks and the Earth's crust through these hydrothermal vents.

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Speaker 1: When the water reaches magma, it heats up then returns,

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Speaker 1: resurfacing with minerals and heat. These rich minerals are probably

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Speaker 1: the reason some of the lake's most unusual species were

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Speaker 1: able to develop, including several unique fish and the Nerpa

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Speaker 1: seal species, which is the only exclusively freshwater seal species

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Speaker 1: in the world, and its evolution is mysterious and some

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Speaker 1: scientists believe it arrived via a prehistoric river from the Arctic.

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Speaker 1: But beyond seals fish, other common animals found in the

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Speaker 1: forests and mountains surrounding Lake Baikal include bears, elk, reindeer, lynx,

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Speaker 1: wild boar, and of course, the lakes frequently reported water

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Speaker 1: dragon master and this ancient lake has another air of

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Speaker 1: mystery about it ufo sightings. Many locals have reported strange

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Speaker 1: lights and alien spacecraft throughout the years, and several Soviet

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Speaker 1: era documents mentioned UFO incidents and sightings around Earth's largest lake. However,

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Speaker 1: for all of its natural wonder a in wildlife and

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Speaker 1: stranger sides, for Lake Bikel's a hundred thousand permanent residents,

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Speaker 1: it's simply home. Their main occupations are forestry, agriculture, fisheries, hunting,

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Speaker 1: and tourism, though that's currently on hold due to COVID nineteen.

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Speaker 1: Here's hoping they open back up soon. Today's episode was

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Speaker 1: written by Stephanie Vermillion and produced by Tyler clang Or.

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Speaker 1: More on this and lots of other curious topics visit

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Speaker 1: how stuff works dot com. Brain Stuff is production of

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