page_title: Lake Baikal
section_title: Birds
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Baikal / Fauna and flora / Birds
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Чайки на БайкалеEnglish: Larus vegae mongolicus, Lake Baikal, Russia
context_page_description: Lake Baikal is a rift lake located in southern Siberia, Russia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast.
  Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23% of the world's fresh surface water. With 23,615.39 km³ of fresh water, it contains more water than the North American Great Lakes combined. With a maximum depth of 1,642 m, Baikal is the world's deepest lake. It is considered among the world's clearest lakes and is considered the world's oldest lake, at 25–30 million years. It is the seventh-largest lake in the world by surface area.
  Like Lake Tanganyika, Lake Baikal was formed as an ancient rift valley and has the typical long, crescent shape, with a surface area of 31,722 km². Baikal is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, many of which are endemic to the region. It is also home to Buryat tribes, residing on the eastern side of the lake, raising goats, camels, cattle, sheep, and horses, where the mean temperature varies from a winter minimum of −19 °C to a summer maximum of 14 °C.
context_section_description: There are 236 species of birds that inhabit Lake Baikal, 29 of which are waterfowl. Although named after the lake, both the Baikal teal and Baikal bush warbler are widespread in eastern Asia.
caption: Mongolian gulls on Baikal
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