Lake Baikal is located in the southern part of Eastern Siberia. It is 636 kilometers long, nearly 80 kilometers wide and has a depth of 1,648 meters. The coast of the lake is approximately 2,100 km long and consists of five mountain ranges. 336 rivers enter the lake, but only one flows out of it. It is the Angara River, which flows into the Yenisei River after 1,779 kilometers. Lake Baikal has 27 islands, of which 22 are permanent and 5 are regularly flooded. One of the two Buddhist buildings in Russia is located on Ogoj Island. Lake contains 20 % by volume of fresh water on Earth. Lake Baikal also affects the continental Siberian weather, which is significantly mitigated. The thickness of the ice on the lake ranges from 70 to 120 cm. Where still water is frozen, ice is as transparent as glass. The stress of the ice mass creates a mosaic of cracked ice. There are more than two and a half thousand different species of plants and animals in the lake area. Of these, 2/3 are local endemic species. Although Baikal Lake is relatively inaccessible, Baikal is increasingly becoming a tourist destination. Location Lake Baikal has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996.