Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal in southern Siberia, Russia, is the deepest and oldest lake on Earth, reaching a maximum bathymetric depth of 1,642 m. Situated in southern Siberia between Irkutsk Oblast and the Republic of Buryatia in Russia, Lake Baikal is the deepest, oldest, and most voluminous freshwater lake on Earth. Measuring 1,642 m at its deepest point, the lake's bottom lies 1,186.5 m below global sea level, forming the deepest continental rift cryptodepression on the planet. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, Baikal supports over 2,500 plant and animal species, including the nerpa, the world's only freshwater seal.