page_title: Lake Baikal
section_title: Historical traditions
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Baikal / Historical traditions
caption_attribution_description: English: Russia in Asia, Chinese Empire, etc. No. 3
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: The first European to reach the lake is said to have been Kurbat Ivanov in 1643.
  In the past, the Baikal was referred to by many Russians as the "Baikal Sea" (Russian: Море Байкал, More Baikal), rather than merely "Lake Baikal" (Russian: Озеро Байкал, Ozero Baikal).
  This usage is attested already in the Life of Protopope Avvakum (1621–1682), and on the late-17th-century maps by Semyon Remezov. It is also attested in the famous song, now passed into the tradition, that opens with the words Славное море, священный Байкал (Glorious sea, [the] sacred Bajkal).
  To this day, the strait between the western shore of the Lake and the Olkhon Island is called Maloye More (Малое Море), i.e. "the Little Sea".
  Lake Baikal is nicknamed "Older sister of Sister Lakes (Lake Khövsgöl and Lake Baikal)".
  
  According to 19th-century traveler T. W. Atkinson, locals in the Lake Baikal Region had the tradition that Christ visited the area:
  The people have a tradition in connection with this region which they implicitly believe. They say "that Christ visited this part of Asia and ascended this summit, whence he looked down on all the region around. After blessing the country to the northward, he turned towards the south, and looking across the Baikal, he waved his hand, exclaiming 'Beyond this there is nothing.'" Thus they account for the sterility of Daouria, where it is said "no corn will grow."
  Lake Baikal has been celebrated in several Russian folk songs. Two of these songs are well known in Russia and its neighboring countries, such as Japan.
  "Glorious Sea, Sacred Baikal" (in Russian: Славное Mope, Священный Байкал) is about a katorga fugitive. The lyrics as documented and edited in the 19th century by Dmitriy P. Davydov (1811–1888). See "Barguzin River" for sample lyrics.
  "The Wanderer" (in Russian: Бродяга) is about a convict who had escaped from jail and was attempting to return home from Transbaikal. The lyrics were collected and edited in the 20th century by Ivan Kondratyev.
  The latter song was a secondary theme song for the Soviet Union's second color film, Ballad of Siberia (1947; in Russian: Сказание о земле Сибирской).
caption: An 1883 British map using the More Baikal (Baikal Sea) designation, rather than the conventional Ozero Baikal (Lake Baikal)
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