THE MAJESTY OF LAKE BAIKAL

Next to oceans, lakes hold the most freshwater in the world. Being the most important resource for life, one would think that the human race would be conscientious about preserving some of the largest reservoirs of the stuff. However, this is not often the case. Lakes worldwide are in trouble.

 

 

The primary reason that lakes are endangered is that most all lakeshores are encircled by automobile-friendly roads. When one glances at a roadmap of the US, one sees that our country is “blackened” by thoroughfares, many of which circle lakes. (Cook) Automobiles, when travelling on roads near lakes, are likely to produce runoff laden with pollutants. (Cook) Lake Tahoe on the border of California and Nevada has 95% of its shoreline covered by roads. (Cook) Lake Geneva in Switzerland only has 1% of its shoreline in its pristine natural state. (Cook) Lake Erie is likely to cease to exist in a mere 50 million years to due the sediment which is filling it, sourced from road runoff and industry located near its shores. (Cook) Roads prevent animals from accessing water. (Cook) It is very rare to find any bit of ocean which is not skirted by roads.

 

One of the only places in our country without roads abutting the ocean is the Lost Coast of California. The etymology of the place-name owes to its remoteness from highways. I will have the pleasure of visiting over break before co-op, and I have read about its beauty. What happens to bodies of water when they are free from the constraints of thoroughfares?

 

 

Lake Baikal in Russia is anomalous because of its lack of roads. A mere 5% of its shoreline has them. (Cook) This is one reason that Baikal remains such a special lake.

 

 

Baikal holds 21% of the world’s fresh water. (Cook) All of the Great Lakes combined fall short of this percentage by 1%. (Cook) The rivers feeding it have been saved from excessive roads because most transportation in Siberia occurs through train lines. (Cook) The land around it has been preserved through the building of trails, which do not take up a large pollution footprint. (Cook) There are no dams upstream of Baikal. (Cook) All of these factors have contributed to the natural splendor of Baikal.

 

 

Peter Thompson is an expert on Baikal, and explained this splendor. Locals refer to the lake as the “sacred sea” (Thompson). It is the oldest and deepest lake (1 mile) on our planet, and would take 300 years to drain. (Thompson) The length of the lake is almost the distance from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and it takes at least “24 hours to traverse its width”. Legend has it that the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan was born there. (Thompson) The “Galapagos of Russia” contains species endemic only to its unique ecosystem, including the only variety of seals that live in freshwater. (Thompson)

 

 

Perhaps the reason that Baikal inspires so much adoration and awe is that water is so linked to life. As Thompson asserts, “Fresh water is life itself!”. (Thompson) And this volume of fresh water is so rare on the earth that humans have a natural and inherent tendency towards awe at such a spectacle.

 

 

 

Lecture by Gary Cook, Director of Earth Inland Institute and Baikal Watch

 

Lecture on Lake Baikal; Sacred Sea, Peter Thompson

Lake Baikal's pristine shores, only 5% of which are skirted by automobile-friendly roads.