A trip to St. Petersburg
Chelsea Noort and Kaylene ChanOur Trip to Lake Baikal
Where we fled toWe vacationed to Lake Baikal, Siberia, which is
nicknamed, the Pearl of Siberia, the worlds oldest and deepest
(1260m) freshwater lake. Its just north of the Mongolian border.
Wed always loved forest areas and this one was new to both of us.
We first went to a village called Listvyanka. It was a 2 hour drive
from Irkutsk airport, Russia.
The LakeThe lake was beautiful, clear and blue. Everything was
very natural because it was a protected area. The lake was
surrounded by extremely high mountains, dense forests, that still
had snow resting on the very tops. This remote Siberian taiga
presented remarkable and breathtaking views.
BaikalWe toured around Lake Baikal in August, which our tour
guide,Vladamir, explained is one of the six months that the Lake is
not frozen over. (Frozen from at earliest, December, to at latest,
May) When we touched the water it was cold, being around 10-12
degrees, said Vladamir. It was about 10-17 degrees outside for the
whole time we visited. We enjoyed the weather immensely because it
was not too hot or cold. In the winter, around the lake the
temperature drops significantly.
Frozen LakeVladamir told us that the lake freezes during the
winter months and stays frozen for half the year. He also explained
that the lake freezes about 20cm thick so that its safe a drive a
car on the surface. Vladamir told us how he competed in the Baikal
Ice-Running Marathon where he ran on the frozen lake in March.
Trees, trees, treesWhen we arrived at the Lake the first things
we noticed were huge, thick, evergreen forests that surrounded the
waters. There were a great vast amount of trees, such as larch,
birch, poplar and alder (deciduous trees) that were closer to the
water.
LarchBirchPoplarAlderTrees, trees, treesWhen we went higher on a
hike, we noticed more coniferous trees, like spruce, fir and cedar.
These cone-bearing trees looked very similar to the trees from our
home in Canada. The forests had the same environment as the
coniferous forests in British Columbia.
SpruceFirCedarPlants and soilWhile Kaylene and I were on our
hike in the surrounding area of Lake Baikal, we both noticed that
there were lots of bogs and then completely dry places in other
areas. A bog is a low-lying area that is covered with water most of
the year. We also saw lots of algae, lichens, and mosses on many
plants and tree trunks. Vladamir explained to us that soils located
in taiga regions are called podzols. The name is comes from two
Russian words. Pod meaning under and zola meaning ash. This is a
good name for the soil because of the grey color and the texture of
the soil.
Journey to the animalsAfter we saw and took pictures of Lake
Baikal, Kaylene and I wanted to see some of the mammals that
Vladamir talked about. So we got onto a bus by Lake Baikal, and we
drove until we got to a place called Primorsky Krai, all the way on
the east coast of Siberia. Here, Vladamir explained, that we would
be able to see two of the worlds largest endangered mammals.
Endangered Siberian Tigers The first large mammal that is
endangered in Siberia is the Siberian Tiger. The Siberian Tiger is
currently being protected in Primorsky Krai, near Korea and China.
This tiger is endangered because of serious poaching. The
population of these tigers, in China and Korea is almost extinct
because the tigers skin, bones and internal organs are used in
traditional Chinese medicine. You could see how this could be a
problem.
Endangered Siberian LeopardThe second large mammal that is
endangered in Siberia, is the Siberian Leopard. This leopard is
located between Vladivostok and the Chinese border. Although this
leopard is protected, farmers are setting fires, to burn old crops,
which sometimes leads to lighting the forest on fire. The leopards
then must clear out. Being short of food, the leopard will go for
deer in the deer farms. He will then become the hunted instead of
the hunter.
Many more animals
While we were travelling back, Kaylene and I saw many more
different mammals, includingMooseGrey WolvesBrown
bearsLynxWolverinesBaikal Sealand the Siberian Crane
Similar to .The Boreal Forest (Taiga) by Lake Baikal, is
virtually the same throughout northern Siberia and Russia. The
Boreal Forest is also similar to the forests in Finland and
Scandinavia, as well as all across northern Canada.
Interesting FactsSome interesting facts that Kaylene and I heard
while we were on our trip include..Boreal forest was named after
Boreas, the Greek god of the north windLargest continuous expanse
of forest on earth (covers about 15 million square kilometers) Lake
Baikal is one of the clearest lakes in the world, on a clear sunny
day, you can see 40 meters down into the lake.
Work CitedInformation:
http://www.bww.irk.ru/baikalclimate/baikalice.htmlhttp://www.geographia.com/russia/baikal01.htmhttp://www.lakebaikal.org/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaigaDay,
Trevor. Taiga. New York: Chelsea House, 2006. PrintRyerson,
McGraw-Hill. BC Science 10: Biomes and Ecosystems. Printed and
bound in Canada, 2008. Print
