Which river flows out of the lake. Rivers flowing from Baikal. The only river flowing from Baikal. What is the only river that flows out of Lake Baikal: the name where it is located on the world map
Surrounded by high mountains, there is a lake of tectonic origin. Its bowl, filled with crystal clear water, goes 1600 meters deep. The rivers of Baikal, consisting of hundreds of arteries, flow into the water area of the lake. It is recognized as the deepest reservoir on the planet with the greatest natural supply of fresh water.
The tributaries and runoff of Baikal
It is not known for certain how many rivers flow into Baikal. The figures vary from 335 to 546 permanent and temporary streams. These include large, small rivers and even streams. The difficulty in counting the tributaries is caused by the periodic disappearance of small streams. There is a version that more than 150 streams under the influence of the anthropogenic factor have disappeared forever.
Numerous tributaries form a catchment area of 589 thousand km. The main flow falls on the eastern coast - 61%, 39% flows in from the west.
Large rivers carry their fast waters into the reservoir.
Their list includes:
- Selenga;
- Turk;
- Barguzin;
- Snowy;
- Sarma;
The Upper Angara belongs to a large tributary. Rapids in the upper reaches, the river does not calm down even on the plain. Combining into a single channel with passing rivers, the Upper Angara once again shows its power. Calms down near the shores of the lake, forming a shallow bay of Angarsky Sor. In the lower reaches, ships sail along the water surface. It should not be confused with the reservoir of the same name - the Angara, which, unlike the Upper Angara, is a watercourse flowing from Lake Baikal.
The full-flowing Barguzin is the third largest tributary. From 1300 meters of the ridge of the same name, the stream rushes into the depths of the lake, covering a catchment area of 21 thousand square meters. km. The upper course of this river is located in a protected area. Stormy temper catches everything that meets. Pebbles, wood, silt "goodies" are brought to Baikal by Barguzin.
At the foot of the Khamar-Daban ridge, the watercourses of Snezhnaya, Utulik, Selenginka and other rivers begin.
Small inflow arteries are designated as Pokhabikha, Cheremukhovaya, Klyuevka, Goloustna. The Durnya River first merges with the Kotochik River. Then it flows into Turka, and it is already into Baikal. The Turka is a river that flows into Baikal and rushes downstream with great speed from a height of 1431 m.
Baikal's tributaries on the map
The contours of the lake, reminiscent of the Muslim crescent, are easily remembered for their location on the map. Geographically, the lake stretches from the southwest to the northeast for 640 km. Squeezed by mountain ranges, Baikal seems to squeeze through rocks and crevices. The Baikal and Primorsky ridges adjoined the reservoir from the western side. The eastern and southeastern coasts are protected by Ulan-Burgasy, Khamar-Daban and the Barguzin massifs. Nature has created an ideal natural landscape in harmony.
The tributaries of the rivers marked on the map, which flow into and out of the lake, give the impression of a miraculous ensemble. The elongated area of the lake gives the illusion of a single body of water with the Upper Angara - the continuation of the river.
Small and large drains of the reservoir create 8 wonders of the world. The natural world of the lake and around it is unique and original. The place attracts caring, inquisitive explorers and just lovers of recreation on Baikal.
Angara
What rivers flow from Baikal? The answer to this question is contained in the natural phenomenon of the Angara. Since ancient times, the people called her - the Daughter of Baikal. Swift and mighty power breaks out of the expanses of water and reaches the right bank of the Yenisei, becoming its tributary. Thanks to the Angara, the Yenisei has become a significant water artery of the Siberian region.
The Angara stretches for 1,800 kilometers, forming a pool together with Baikal waters of about 1,050 thousand square meters. m. About 40 large and small inflowing tributaries feed the Angara basin. Among them, the most significant are distinguished: Taseeva, Kata, Irkut, Kamenka, Ilim, Biryusa, Oka.
The strong current of the Angara makes early freezing difficult, despite the harsh climate. Another reason lies in the warm climate of the water area. At the beginning of winter, the places at the source are covered with steam. On numerous polynyas, birds gather for wintering. In the source there are up to three dozen species of fish, attracting fishermen from all over the area.
Selenga
The largest river flowing into Baikal begins in the Mongolian steppes. It was formed as a result of the confluence of the rivers Ider and Muren. The path of the Selenga ends in the depths of Baikal.
There is a version that in ancient times the Angara and Selenga were an inextricable natural reservoir. According to another legend, the river fed the Lena. Centuries-old river runoff reaches 30 km³ of water in volume. It gives up to 50% of the water flow.
The area of the pool is 450 thousand square meters. km. Closer to the lake, the water element splits into a delta, which seems incredibly large. Its area is 690 sq. km. cut with numerous sleeves.
Among the rivers that flow into the Selenga, the famous reservoirs are:
- Jida.
- Temnik.
- Khilok.
- Agin Gol.
- Chica.
- Orkhon (Mongolia).
The lower course of the river falls on Buryatia, where it stretches for 410 kilometers. The total length of the Selenga is 1025 kilometers.
Most of it flows through the territory of the Mongolian steppes.
Rains are the main source of filling the watercourse.
Large cities found shelter on the banks of the Selenga:
- Ulan-Ude is the capital of Buryatia.
- Sukhbaatar - Mongolia.
The neighboring country is preparing plans to build a power plant in its part of the Selenga. The Russians abandoned this idea because of the senseless damming of the flat water area of the river.
Baikal(Buryat name Baigal dalai) - a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the deepest lake on the planet, the largest natural reservoir of fresh water.
The lake and coastal areas are distinguished by a unique variety of flora and fauna, most of the animal species are endemic.
Lake Baikal differs from many other reservoirs not only in its extraordinary depth, but also in the incredible purity and transparency of the water.
Such a great depth is due to the fact that it is located in a crevice of tectonic origin. Many rivers flow into the lake, but only one river carries the Baikal water with it.
Quite often there is confusion about which rivers flow into Baikal and how many there are in total.
It is now believed that about one and a half hundred of these streams could have disappeared altogether due to the anthropogenic factor.
According to official data, now Baikal had 336 watercourses, one of which, and a very large one, is the river flowing from Baikal - the Angara.
Among the tributaries are such large rivers as the Selenga, Turka, Barguzin and Snezhnaya. Among the large tributaries of the lake there is also a river, which, with its name, introduces another confusion - this is the Upper Angara.
Many confuse it with the Angara, and therefore the latter is considered a tributary instead of a drain. Smaller rivers of Baikal sometimes have very funny names: Cheryomukhovaya, Golaya, Kotochik, Durnya. The latter, however, does not flow into the lake itself, but into the Kotochik River, which, in turn, flows into Turku, and it already flows into Baikal.
Nevertheless, the fact that Fool carries its waters into the "Glorious Sea" remains an irrefutable fact. And there are more than a thousand such rivers and streams!
Therefore, if you walk around the entire basin, it will be problematic to count how many rivers flow into Baikal in total. The largest rivers of Baikal.
Angara
Breaking down from the heights, the river flowing from Baikal - Angara runs away. At its source is the rock Shaman-stone. Legend has it that Father Baikal threw this stone after his runaway daughter. Love for the hero Yenisei inspired her to this escape, and in fact her father read another hero, whose name was Irkut, to be her suitors.
In fact, such a powerful runoff is only beneficial for Baikal. The aforementioned streams flowing into the lake bring unpolluted water, making their way through forest thickets, located far from large industries and highways.
Baikal has another secret of cleanliness - its plankton, teeming with epishura crustaceans that process organic matter. The work of these microscopic creatures is comparable to the action of a distiller. This is where such an unprecedented transparency of water comes from, in which there are very few even dissolved salts.
Angara - h a pure and beautiful river with clear and clean water. Its length is 1779 km. The wide species composition of the ichthyofauna makes the Angara a very attractive object for recreational fishing. More than 30 species of fish are found in the river.
Large tributaries of the Angara:
- Taseeva;
- Irkut;
- Ilim;
- Chadobets;
- Kamenka;
- Kata and others.
Selenga
Now it's time to talk about which rivers flow into Baikal. The largest of them is the Selenga. This river flows through the territory (mostly flat) of two states: first Mongolia, and then Russia. She completes her journey, breaking up into a delta near the lake. Almost half of all the water that enters Baikal is brought by the Selenga. It owes its high water to tributaries:
- Jide;
- Temnik;
- Orongoy;
- Chikoya;
- Ude and others.
Of the largest cities on this river are Ulan-Ude - the capital of Buryatia, as well as the Mongolian city of Sukhe Bator. The Mongols are thinking about power plants on the Selenga, and as for the Russian part of the river, they decided not to build hydraulic structures on it, since both the flat course of the river and the absence of large agglomerations cast doubt on the need to block the Selenga with a dam.
Upper Angara
If you look at this river on the map, then the elongated shape of Baikal will create such an illusion that the lake is a continuation of the Upper Angara, only in the form of a reservoir. Who knows, maybe millions of years ago, nature itself arranged for itself this wonderful supply of fresh water, opening up such a deep crevice just along the river. At first, it could have been a small flowing lake on the general path of the Angara, but this fact, apparently, has yet to be proved by Baikal researchers.
The river itself in the upper course has a difficult character. It is mountainous, fast, rapids, and even then, when it reaches the plain, it does not stop winding, breaking up into channels, then again uniting in all its might into a single channel, then again there are gaps, but the oxbow lakes do not form from them.
The Upper Angara approaches Baikal already quiet and calm: at the northernmost part of the lake it forms a bay with a small depth, which is called the Angara Sor.
A large part of the Baikal-Amur Mainline runs along the Upper Angara. The river itself is navigable, but only in the lower reaches. Among its tributaries are:
- Koter;
- Churo;
- Yangchui;
- Angarakan.
Barguzin
If someone has not heard such a name near the river of Lake Baikal, then they have probably heard about the famous Barguzin sable. This furry animal just lives in the vicinity of the Barguzin River. The river itself flows in Buryatia. At first, it breaks down from the mountain slope - the Ikat Range, carrying its fast waters along the rapids.
It is mostly fed by rain. It has tributaries - Inu, Gargu, Argadu and Ulyun. In the Amut Basin, Barguzin forms a flowing lake called Balan-Tamur.
The upper reaches of this river are located in a protected area. In the middle reaches of the Barguzin there are calm areas located in the taiga valley.
However, soon the flat landscape is replaced by the walls of the gorge, where the rapids begin again, up to the next basin - the Barguzinskaya.
Here again the river spills over the plain, flowing steadily towards the village of Barguzin. As soon as it passes the namesake village, it immediately again breaks through the mountain range (by the way, also Barguzinsky), and the rapids with shivers begin again
The Barguzin River flows into Baikal as a single stream, without splitting into a delta. Due to his "unstable" nature, Barguzin brings "goodies" to Baikal in the form of silt, sand and small stones.
Turk
In contrast to the name of the coffee vessel, in the name of the river, the emphasis is on the last syllable. This river flows in a mountainous area, therefore, its waters are fast. Its sources are located at an altitude of 1430 m.
On the way to Baikal, it feeds on water from snow and rain, as well as from its tributaries, among which:
- Golonda;
- cat;
- Yambuy;
- Ara-Khurtak.
But not only these rivers, but also Lake Kotokel also gives its waters to Baikal through Turku. Water from Lake Kotokel enters it sequentially through a system of rivers, which is completed by Kotochik. The Turka itself flows into Baikal in the middle, near the village of the same name.
Snowy
She's kind of a champion. Without claiming to be the most full-flowing tributary of Lake Baikal, it still ranks first in terms of water consumption among the rivers that flow to the lake from the northern part of Khamar-Daban.
Naturally, the Khermyn-Dulyu waterfall, located in the river basin, is not classified as a natural obstacle that a person should compete with. Flight of the Squirrel ”(this is how the name of the waterfall is translated)
Snezhnaya has tributaries of the upper Zubkosun, Zubkosun, Shibetui, Saybakhty, Urdo-Zubkosun, Anigta and many others. All of them rush their waters from the mountains to Baikal, winding and intersecting with Snezhnaya.
Sarma
This river is located in the Irkutsk region. Its source is located near the mountain with the unusual name of the Three-Headed Loach. If you look in a straight line, then this place and Baikal are separated by only a dozen kilometers, but Sarma winds along the plateau so much that it stretches for 66 km. The river is famous for the strongest of the Baikal winds accelerating in its valley. The locals also call it Sarma.
In Lake Baikal there is a strait called the Small Sea, and it is this strait that is the final point where Sarma delivers its waters. Before that, the river splits into a delta, which seems incredibly large for local rivers flowing into Baikal. But these are not all the quirks associated with the Sarma: it turns out that one of its tributaries is an unnamed river. Why no one ever gave her a name is surprising, since her existence is known. Other tributaries bear the following names:
- Uspan;
- Yakshal;
- Left Sarma;
- Nougan;
- Dry;
- Little Beleta.
Surprisingly, all these tributaries are streams and they have their own names. But the river doesn't. However, Baikal itself is amazing, mysterious and not fully explored. Therefore, our task is to protect the local nature and study it, and not put it at the service of man.
The maximum depth of Baikal reaches 1642 m. The volume of water in Baikal is 82 times higher than Lake Onega and 26 times the Ladoga reservoir. The endemicity of the fauna and flora of Baikal is 65%. About 1800 species of animals and plants are not found in any other reservoir on Earth. According to some scientists, Baikal is an emerging ocean, its age is about 25 million years.
If nature stores a huge supply of the purest water in such a lake, then our planet needs it, and ruining or wasting it would be a huge crime.
Baikal its basin - this is a unique animal and plant world, water itself, the quality of which depends on the vital activity of aquatic organisms, minerals, climate, unique landscapes, monuments of the history of science, material culture, etc.
The media reported on the threat of Baikal drying up due to a hydroelectric power station in Mongolia
The construction of a hydroelectric power station in Mongolia could lead to an ecological catastrophe on Lake Baikal, Izvestia learned. Hydroelectric stations are planned to be built on the Selenga River, which provides up to 80% of the water supply to the lake, and its tributaries. Lake Baikal is under the threat of an ecological disaster. Due to the construction of three large hydroelectric power stations planned by Mongolia on the Selenga River and its tributaries, the lake may disappear, as the Aral Sea once did, Izvestia writes. Mongolia plans to build a hydroelectric power station on the Selenga itself, which provides up to 80% of the water flow to Baikal, and its tributaries Egiin-gol (220 MW) and Orkhon (100 MW). This will have an irreversible negative impact on the ecological state of Lake Baikal, several sources in the government and in leading energy companies told Izvestia. Mongolian side electricity. Izvestia notes that at the moment Mongolia is not satisfied with the economic conditions under which Russia supplies it with electricity. The first round of negotiations and consultations on this issue took place on April 11 at the Ministry of Natural Resources. Izvestia has the minutes of this meeting. As follows from the document, in order to determine the risks from the HPP, a “comprehensive environmental, social and economic assessment of the implementation of energy and water management projects in Mongolia and their impact on the Selenga River and Lake Baikal” is required.
Regulation of the water level in the river with the help of hydroelectric power plants can negatively affect the unique ecosystem of its delta.
Electricity from the hydroelectric power station could potentially be destined for the mining industry, and this is the risk that its waste and other pollutants may enter the river, and then the lake
Among the alternative options, the optimization of the cost of Russian energy for Mongolia is considered - such a proposal was made by InterRAO. Rosseti proposes to develop the network infrastructure, RusHydro to update the network infrastructure scheme of Mongolia, and Hydroproject to abandon the hydroelectric power station on the Selenga in favor of a thermal power plant (combined heat and power plant) and a pumped storage power plant (pumped storage power plant). The meeting also proposed the option of including Mongolia in the energy ring as part of the new roadmap.
Baikal is the deepest lake surrounded by high mountains. Many rivers flow into it, but only one flows out. She is called the daughter of Baikal. It is beautiful and full-flowing and, moreover, very swift.
General description of the Baikal rivers
The food pool has many water streams. These are the rivers flowing from Baikal and flowing into it. There are 544 temporary and permanent tributaries. The rivers were counted on maps in 1964. Before that, it was believed that there were 336 of them. Moreover, most of them flow from the eastern shores.
The rivers carry 60 cubic kilometers of water to Baikal. It has low mineralization, as the area around the lake is composed of metamorphic and volcanic rocks. The total area of the drainage basin is about 540 thousand square kilometers. The largest inflowing and flowing rivers of Baikal: Angara, Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin. They are located like this, starting with the most important.
Main tributaries of Baikal
Most of the waters - almost half of Baikal - comes from its source located in Mongolia.
The Upper Angara flows into Baikal from the northeast. It flows down from the Severo-Muisky and Delyun-Uransky ridges.
Barguzin is another large river flowing into Baikal. In full-flowing water, it loses to the Upper Angara. It carries its waters from the Barguzinsky ridge. The height that this river loses when it reaches the majestic lake is 1344 meters.
The rivers flowing down from the Khamar-Daban ridge are numerous. This mountain range is heavily dissected by valleys. These are such rivers as Snezhnaya, Langutai, Selenginka, Utulik, Khara-Murin. These water streams have many rapids and waterfalls.
All these are tributaries of a huge lake, but are there any rivers flowing from Baikal? The water stream originating from this miracle of nature is one and only. Which river flows out of Baikal can be seen on the map of this region. This is Angara.
Toponymy of Baikal and its rivers
The name Baikal (according to one of the versions) is translated from Turkic as "rich lake". Another option, from Mongolian, is "big lake". Different translations of the names have inflowing and flowing rivers. Angara originates from Baikal, and its name means “open” (from the Buryat word “angagar”). Barguzin (and with it the ridge, village, bay of the same name) is formed from the name of a tribe living in the Baikal region. They are called Barguts, and their language is similar to Buryat. Selenga from Evenki means "iron". And from Buryat it can have such a translation: "lake", "overflow". Shaman threshold - the base of the Primorsky ridge, washed out by the Angara. The resulting ledge is revered by the local population. It has acquired the status of a protected natural monument.
Angara and the rivers flowing into it
The Angara has a powerful stream, like other large Siberian rivers. Its waters flowing from Baikal rush mainly in the northern and western directions. On its way, it overcomes further flows through the territory of the Baikal region and ends its run at the confluence with the Yenisei. Its length is 1779 kilometers. The Angara owes its powerful flow to Baikal. Its width is more than a kilometer. The only river flowing from Baikal, in turn, feeds the Yenisei, the largest water artery of Siberia, from the right side. The basin of this river includes 38 thousand small and large tributaries. In addition, there are more than six lakes in this area. The tributaries of the Angara on the left side are larger: Irkut, Kitoy, Belaya, Biryusa, Oka, Uda. On the right side, the flowing rivers are not so full-flowing: Ilim, Ushovka, Uda, Kuda, Ida, Osa.
The course of this river passes through an area characterized by harsh climatic conditions. However, ice is established on it later than on other large water streams in Siberia. This is due to the fact that there is a very strong current. In addition, Baikal waters enter the Angara, the temperature of which is warmer. At the source, steam even rises above the river. It forms frost on trees. Every year black-and-white goldeneyes, long-tailed ducks, and mergansers come here for the winter. Also in winter, up to two thousand ducks gather on the Angara.
Economic use of the river
The cities of Irkutsk, Angarsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk arose on the banks of the Angara. The only river flowing out of Baikal has a very powerful flow. Therefore, hydropower plays an important role in the economy of this region. Three Irkutsk and Ust-Ilimsk were built on the Angara. Reservoirs with corresponding names have been built here. Together they form the Angara cascade. The fourth HPP - Boguchanskaya - is under construction.
Prior to the creation of these power plants and reservoirs, the river was not navigable, since its course is very fast, and many rapids created a danger to pass. This was a very serious problem in the economic development of this region. Now river transportation has become more accessible, but only in four sections of the river. As a result of human activities, the water in the Angara has become calmer.
Legend of the Angara
There is a legend that tells which river flows out of Baikal and why. It says that the hero Baikal lived in these parts. He had 336 sons and only one daughter, Angara. The hero forced his children to work day and night. They melted snow and ice, and drove the water into a deep depression surrounded by mountains. But the results of their hard work were wasted by the daughter on different outfits and other whims. One day Angara found out that somewhere behind the mountains lives the handsome Yenisei. She fell in love with him.
But the stern father wanted her to marry the old man Irkut. To prevent her from escaping, he hid her in a palace at the bottom of the lake. Angara grieved for a long time, but the gods took pity on her and released her from the dungeon. Baikal's daughter broke free and ran quickly, quickly. And the old Baikal could not catch up with it. Out of anger and annoyance, he threw a stone in her direction. But he missed, and the block fell into the place where the Shaman stone is now located. He continued to throw stones at his fleeing daughter, but each time Angara managed to dodge. When she ran to her fiancé Yenisei, they hugged and together went north to the sea.
The Angara is one of the great Siberian rivers, and yet it is unique. This is the only river flowing from Lake Baikal. It provides electricity to the entire Irkutsk region and neighboring territories.
25.02.2019
Baikal(bur. Baigal dalai, Baigal nuur) is a lake of tectonic origin in the southern part of Eastern Siberia, the deepest lake in the world and the largest (by volume) reservoir of watery fresh water. It contains about 19% of the global supply of fresh water. The lake is located in the rift plain in Eastern Siberia on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. 336 rivers flow into it, many of which are the Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin and others, and one river flows out - the Angara.
Information about Baikal:
Geographical location and dimensions of the basin
Baikal is located in the center of Asia, in Russia, on the border of the Irkutsk region and the Republic of Buryatia. The lake stretches from northeast to southwest for 620 km in the form of a huge crescent. The width of Lake Baikal ranges from 24 to 79 km. There is no other deepest lake on earth. The bottom of Baikal is 1167 meters below the level of the World Ocean, and the mirror of its waters is 453 meters higher.
The area of the aquatic surface is 31,722 km² (excluding islands), which is approximately equal to the area of \u200b\u200bsuch states as Belgium, the Netherlands or Denmark. Baikal ranks sixth among the largest lakes in the world in terms of the area of its water surface.
The lake is located in a specific basin, surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges and hills. With all this, the western coast is rocky and steep, the relief of the eastern coast is more gentle (in some places the mountains recede from the coast for 10 km).
Depth
Baikal is the deepest lake on the planet Earth. The modern value of the greatest depth of the lake - 1637 m - was established in 1983 by L.G. Kolotilo and A.I. Sulimov during the performance of hydrographic work by the expedition of the GUNiO of the USSR Ministry of Defense at the point with coordinates 53 ° 14 "59" N. latitude. 108°05"11" E
The greatest depth was mapped in 1992 and proved in 2002 as a result of a joint Belgian-Spanish-Russian project to create the latest bathymetric map of Baikal, when the depths were digitized at 1,312,788 points of the lake’s water area (the depth values were obtained as a result of recalculation acoustic sounding data combined with additional bathymetric information, including echolocation and seismic profiling; one of the creators of the discovery of the greatest depth, L.G. Kolotilo, was a participant in this project).
If we take into account that the water surface of the lake is located at an altitude of 453 m above sea level, then the lower point of the basin lies 1186.5 m below the level of the world ocean, which makes the Baikal bowl also one of the deepest continental depressions.
The average depth of the lake is also very large - 744.4 m. It exceeds the greatest depths of many very deep lakes.
Apart from Baikal, only two lakes on Earth have a depth of more than 1000 meters: Tanganyika (1470 m) and the Caspian Sea (1025 m). According to some data, the subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica has a depth of more than 1200 m, but it must be taken into account that this subglacial "lake" is not a lake in the sense that we are used to, because there are four kilometers of ice above the water and it is a kind of closed container, where the water is under tremendous pressure, and the "surface" or "level" of water in different parts of this "lake" differs by more than 400 meters. Consequently, the concept of "depth" for the subglacial Lake Vostok is fundamentally different from the depth of "ordinary" lakes.
Water volume
The water reserves in Baikal are huge - 23,615.39 km³ (about 19% of the global fresh water reserves - all fresh lakes in the world contain 123 thousand km³ of water). In terms of water reserves, Baikal occupies the 2nd place in the world among lakes, second only to the Caspian Sea, but the water in the Caspian Sea is salty. There is more water in Baikal than in all 5 Great Lakes taken together, and 25 times more than in Lake Ladoga.
Tributaries and runoff
336 rivers and streams flow into Baikal, but this number takes into account only constant tributaries. The largest of them are Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin, Turka, Snezhnaya, Sarma. One river flows out of the lake - the Angara.
Water characteristics
Baikal water is very transparent. The main characteristics of Baikal water can be briefly described as follows: it contains very few dissolved and suspended mineral substances, negligibly insufficient organic impurities, and a lot of oxygen.
The water in Baikal is cool. The temperature of the surface layers even in summer does not exceed +8…+9°C, in some bays - +15°C. The temperature of the deep layers is about +4°C. Only in the summer of 1986 did the surface water temperature in the northern part of Baikal rise to a record 22-23°C.
The water in the lake is so transparent that individual pebbles and various objects can be seen at a depth of 40 m. At this time, the Baikal water is blue. In summer and autumn, when a mass of plant and animal organisms develop in the water warmed by the sun, its transparency drops to 8-10 m, and the color becomes blue-green and green. The purest and most transparent water of Lake Baikal contains so few mineral salts (96.7 mg/l) that it can be used instead of distilled water.
The freezing period is on average January 9 - May 4; Baikal freezes completely, not counting a small, 15-20 km long section located at the source of the Angara. The sailing period for passenger and cargo ships is usually from June to September; research vessels begin navigation right after the ice breaks up the lake and complete it with the freezing of Lake Baikal, in other words, from May to January.
By the end of winter, the ice thickness on Lake Baikal reaches 1 m, and in the bays - 1.5-2 m. In severe frost, cracks, which have the local name "stanovo cracks", break the ice into separate fields. The length of such cracks is 10-30 km, and the width is 2-3 m. Breaks occur once a year in approximately the same areas of the lake. They are accompanied by a sonorous crack, reminiscent of thunder or cannon shots. It seems to a person standing on the ice that the ice cover is bursting just under his feet and he will currently fall into the abyss. Thanks to the cracks in the ice, the fish in the lake do not die from a lack of oxygen. Baikal ice, in addition, is very transparent, and the sun's rays fall through it, therefore planktonic aquatic plants that produce oxygen rapidly develop in the water. Along the shores of Lake Baikal, it is possible to watch ice grottoes and splashes in winter.
Baikal ice presents scientists with many mysteries. So, in the 1930s, specialists from the Baikal Limnological Station found unusual forms of ice cover, corresponding only to Baikal. For example, “hills” are cone-shaped ice mounds up to 6 m high, hollow inside. Outwardly, they resemble ice tents, “open” in the opposite direction from the coast. The hills can be placed separately, and from time to time they form small "mountain ranges". There are also a number of other types of ice on Baikal: “sokuy”, “kolobovnik”, “autumn”.
In addition, in the spring of 2009, satellite images of various parts of Lake Baikal were widely distributed on the Internet, on which dark rings were found. According to scientists, these rings appear due to the rise of deep waters and an increase in the temperature of the surface layer of water in the central part of the ring structure. As a result of this process, an anticyclonic (clockwise) direction appears. In the zone where the direction achieves the highest velocities, the vertical water exchange increases, which leads to accelerated destruction of the ice cover.
Bottom relief
The bottom of Lake Baikal has a pronounced relief. Along the entire coast of Baikal, coastal shallow waters (shelves) and underwater slopes are developed to a greater or lesser extent; the bed of 3 main basins of the lake is expressed; there are underwater banks and even underwater ridges.
The Baikal basin is divided into three basins: Southern, Middle and Northern, separated from each other by 2 ridges - Akademichesky and Selenginsky.
More expressive is the Academic Ridge, which stretches along the bottom of Lake Baikal from Olkhon Island to the Ushkany Islands (which are its highest part). Its length is about 100 km, the highest height above the bottom of Baikal is 1848 m. The thickness of bottom sediments in Baikal reaches about 6 thousand m, and as established by gravity survey, one of the highest mountains on Earth, more than 7000 m high, is flooded in Baikal.
Islands and peninsulas
There are 27 islands on Baikal (Ushkany Islands, Olkhon Peninsula, Yarki Peninsula and others), the largest of them is Olkhon (71 km long and 12 km wide, located almost in the center of the lake near its western coast, the area is 729 km², according to according to other sources - 700 km²), the largest peninsula is Svyatoy Nos.
seismic activity
The Baikal region (the so-called Baikal rift zone) is one of the areas with the highest seismicity: earthquakes constantly occur here, the strength of most of which is one or two points on the MSK-64 intensity scale. But there are also strong ones; So, in 1862, during the ten-point Kudarinsky earthquake in the northern part of the Selenga delta, a land area of 200 km² with 6 uluses, in which 1300 people lived, went under water, and Proval Bay was formed. Strong earthquakes were also recorded in 1903 (Baikal), 1950 (Mondinskoe), 1957 (Muiskoe), 1959 (Middle Baikal). The epicenter of the Middle Baikal earthquake was located at the bottom of Baikal near the village of Sukhaya (southeast coast). His strength reached 9 points. In Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk, the force of the head shock reached 5-6 points, cracks and minor damage were observed in buildings and structures. The last strong earthquakes on Baikal occurred in August 2008 (9 points) and in February 2010 (6.1 points).
Climate
Baikal winds often raise a storm on the lake. The water mass of Baikal influences the climate of the coastal area. Winters are milder here, and summers are cooler. The arrival of spring on Baikal is delayed by 10-15 days compared to the surrounding areas, and autumn is often quite long.
The Baikal region is distinguished by a large total duration of sunshine. For example, in the village of Huge Goloustnoye, it reaches 2524 hours, which is more than in the Black Sea resorts, and is a record for Russia. There are only 37 days in the absence of the sun in the same inhabited Friday, and 48 on the Olkhon Peninsula.
The special features of the climate are justified by the Baikal winds, which have their own names - barguzin, sarma, verkhovik, kultuk.
Origin of the lake
The origin of Baikal still causes scientific controversy. Scientists usually determine the age of the lake at 25-35 million years. This fact also makes Baikal a unique natural object, because most of the lakes, separately of glacial origin, live on average 10-15 thousand years, and later they are filled with silty sediments and become waterlogged.
But there is also a version about the youth of Baikal, put forward by A.V. Tatarinov in 2009, which received circumstantial evidence during the second step of the Mirs expedition to Baikal. Namely, the activity of mud volcanoes at the bottom of Lake Baikal allows scientists to believe that the modern coastal strip of the lake is only 8 thousand years old, and the deep-water part is 150 thousand years old.
Of course, only that the lake is located in a rift basin and is similar in structure, for example, to the Dead Sea basin. Some researchers explain the formation of Baikal by its location in the transform fault zone, others imply the presence of a mantle plume under Baikal, and others explain the formation of the basin by passive rifting as a result of the collision of the Eurasian plate and Hindustan. Be that as it may, the transformation of Baikal continues to this day - earthquakes constantly occur in the lake districts. There are speculations that the subsidence of the basin is associated with the formation of vacuum chambers due to the outpouring of basalts on the surface (Quaternary period).
Additional information on the site about lakes:
Baikal is not just a legendary lake, it is also very deep.
The water in it is always clean and cold, and it owes it to the rivers and streams that flow to it from all over the world.
What rivers flow into and out of Baikal
Researchers still cannot accurately calculate how many rivers this lake has that flow into it. The rivers flowing into Baikal have beautiful names.
It is interesting that there are such rivers as the Kotochik River, which flows into Turku, and already that into Baikal itself. The tributary Upper Angara often misleads geographers who confuse it with the beautiful Angara.
There are a little more than a thousand small rivers and streams, so we’ll better deal with large rivers.
Many rivers of Baikal have their own history. The largest is the Selenga. It crosses two states and breaks up into a delta, flowing into Baikal. 
This full-flowing beauty brings almost half of all water to the lake, and it receives it from its four tributaries.
The Upper Angara is considered to be the next in terms of beauty and abundance of water; this mountainous and capricious beauty can be very unpredictable even on the plain. Near Baikal it forms a bay - the Angarsk Cathedral.
The very famous Baikal-Amur Mainline stretches along most of the river. Just like the Selenga, this river has tributaries.
The waters of all the rivers flowing into Baikal bring some surprises with them. And Barguzin is no exception. Along with the waters, silt, sand and small pebbles enter Baikal.
The river was named so most likely because of the Barguzin sable, which lives here in large numbers. Barguzin carries its unruly waters through the vast expanses of the Buryat Republic.
It originates on the mountain slopes, filled mainly with rain. This river has a small lake formed by it - Balan-Tamur.
The turbulent waters of the Turks are collected from melting snow and rains, they also have tributaries. Not only tributaries, but also Lake Kotokel fills this river with water.
There are still two rivers with beautiful names Sarma, Snezhnaya. That's all the rivers flowing into Baikal.
Now we can talk about what rivers flow from Baikal. This is only one river - the Angara. Proud and rebellious, whose waters are directed to meet the handsome Yenisei, being its largest tributary.
Where it originates lies the legendary shaman stone. Anglers love the river, as it has a huge number of different fish. The river has many tributaries.
Four road bridges are thrown across it, but there is no railway bridge. In the warm season, ships go along it. Angara has many islands.
So we learned what rivers Baikal has.
Related materials:
Films about Baikal
If you want to get acquainted with the lake, then watch a documentary film about Baikal by the Irkutsk Scientific and Educational Center, released in 2003. It is called - "Baikal. Legends of the Great Lake. ...
What is the transparency of Baikal's water?
Lake Baikal impresses not only with its size, surrounding nature, but also makes you admire the water. It is very transparent in the reservoir, which allows you to see the bottom of the lake, ...
Baikal is a lake of tectonic origin. Those. simply put, this is a huge fault in the earth's crust, formed due to powerful tectonic activity. It is difficult to say exactly when this happened, it is generally accepted that the age of Baikal is 25-30 million years. But tectonic movements continue here at the present time, as evidenced by regular earthquakes, outcrops of thermal springs and subsidence of significant areas of the territory.
Where did the name "Baikal" come from?
Not exactly established. There are dozens of versions of the origin of the name. Among them, the most likely:
From the Turkic - Bai-Kul - a rich lake.
From the Mongolian - Baigal - a rich fire and Baigal Dalai - a large lake.
From Chinese - Beihai - North Sea.
How much water is in Baikal?
About 23,000 cubic kilometers! This is more than all five great lakes of North America (22,725 km3) combined. This is 20% of the world's fresh water.
How many rivers flow into Baikal?
There are 336 permanent streams. Of these, the largest rivers are the Selenga, Upper Angara, Barguzin, Turka, Snezhnaya, Sarma.
How many rivers flow?
Only one river flows out of Baikal - the Angara. In general, due to the presence of natural runoff and fresh water, Baikal becomes a lake, not a sea.
How deep is Baikal?
To date, the greatest depth has been recorded in the middle basin of Lake Baikal, not far from Olkhon Island and is 1637 m.
What winds blow on Baikal?
About thirty names of the Baikal winds are known. But that doesn't mean they all exist. It's just that some of the winds have several names.
The most famous winds:
Barguzin is a northeast wind blowing in the middle part of Lake Baikal.
Kultuk- wind blowing from the southern tip of the lake in a northeasterly direction.
Sarma- probably the most terrible wind on Baikal. It blows from the Sarma river valley. The cold Arctic wind, which crosses the seaside ridge, falls into the river valley, a kind of wind tunnel. Where it reaches hurricane force. The most terrible tragedies on Baikal are connected with Sarma.
Shelonnik- air masses that came from Mongolia, rolling down from the Khamar-Daban ridge, cause a lot of problems for fishermen, because as a rule, dense fogs descend on the southern tip of the lake with the wind. In the absence of a GPS navigator, it becomes quite problematic to determine the direction to the native coast. The wind covers only the southern tip of the lake.
Angara- the wind blows from the valley of the Angara river. It usually brings wet, cold weather.
Pokatuha- Northwest wind in the southern tip of Lake Baikal. Very strong and dangerous wind. The problem is that it arises almost suddenly, reaching terrible strength.
Are there storms on Baikal?
Yes, they are quite strong. During a storm, the wave often reaches 4-5 meters. There is information that waves of 6 meters were recorded. But the season of storms occurs mainly in the autumn months. In summer, storms are extremely rare and do not last long.
What kind of fish is found in Baikal?
Currently, there are 52 species of fish on Baikal. Moreover, 27 species of them are endemic. The most interesting for anglers are such species as - omul, grayling, lenok, pike, roach, perch. The main commercial fish is the omul. Sturgeon is also found in Baikal, but fishing for it is prohibited.
When does Baikal freeze?
It is believed that the ice-up on Baikal begins at the end of December, but the lake completely freezes only on the 20th of January. Only the source of the Angara River never freezes, this is due to the fact that water is drawn into the Angara from a depth where the water temperature has positive values. Baikal is freed from ice in May.
Why is the water in Baikal fresh?
The rivers feeding Baikal carry waters of very weak mineralization, because their channels are composed of hardly soluble crystalline rocks. And the rivers are the main source of food for Baikal as a reservoir.
Are there mammals in Baikal?
The only representative of mammals living in Baikal is the Baikal seal or, as it is also called, the seal. It has not been precisely established how the seal got to Baikal, there is a version that it came from the Arctic Ocean along the Yenisei and Angara.
The most terrible tragedy on Baikal.
The most terrible tragedy that occurred on Lake Baikal is considered to be the incident that occurred from October 14 to 15, 1901. The tugboat Yakov, following from Verkhneangarsk, led three ships Potapov, Mogilev and Shipunov. In the Small Sea, not far from the Cape "Mare's Head", the ships were caught in a terrible storm. The ships being towed were released. The storm continued for two days. 176 people died. The wind was so strong that it simply threw people on the rocks. Corpses frozen to the rocks were found at a height of 10 fathoms.
The drainage basin of the lake is 540,034 sq. km. There is still no consensus on the number of rivers flowing into Baikal. According to I.D. Chersky (1886) 336 rivers and streams flow into the lake. In 1964, the calculation of the Baikal rivers according to topographic maps was carried out by V.M. Boyarkin. According to his data, 544 watercourses (temporary and permanent) flow into Baikal, 324 from the eastern shore, 220 from the western. Rivers annually bring 60 cubic meters to Baikal. km of low-mineralized water. This is explained by the fact that the area of the Baikal drainage basin is composed mainly of igneous and metamorphic rocks, consisting of sparingly soluble minerals.
Angara
The Angara is one of the largest and most unique rivers in Eastern Siberia. The total length of the Angara is 1779 km. It flows out of Lake Baikal in a powerful stream 1.1 km wide and up to 1.8-1.9 m deep. The average water flow at the source is 1920 cubic meters. m / s, or about 61 cubic meters. km per year. It flows into the Yenisei 83 km upstream of the city of Yeniseisk. The catchment area of the Angara basin, including Lake Baikal, is 1,039,000 sq. km. Half of the basin area falls on Baikal, the rest - on the Angara itself. The length of the Angara within the region is 1360 km, the catchment area is 232,000 sq. km.
In the Angara basin, within the region, there are 38,195 different rivers and streams with a total length of 162,603 km, which is four times the circumference of the Earth at the equator.
The Angara flows through the territory of the Irkutsk region from south to north. Its valley is well developed. In some sections, it expands to 12-15 km, and in the places where the gangways exit, it narrows to 300-400 m.
Angara receives food from Lake Baikal. The Irkutsk reservoir is a natural regulator of water consumption. The Angara is fed by the waters of the tributaries, the role of which increases towards the mouth.
Before the construction of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station, the level regime of the Angara was very peculiar. In summer, due to heavy rains, and in winter, due to the accumulation of bottom ice and sludge in the narrow places of the channel, the height of the water rise reached 9 m. In connection with the creation of the Irkutsk and Bratsk reservoirs, the level regime of the Angara has changed. The levels increased during the off-season and decreased during the flood due to the distribution of water over a large area.
A distinctive feature of the Angara is that it is located in relatively harsh climatic conditions, but freeze-up on it occurs later than on other rivers of Siberia and even the European part of Russia. This is explained by the rapid flow and the inflow of relatively warm deep waters from Baikal.
After the construction of the Irkutsk, Bratsk and Ust-Ilimsk HPPs, the Angara does not freeze below these HPPs, since the waters in the reservoirs warmed up during the summer do not have time to cool down in these areas.
The high degree of water content of the Angara throughout the year, the constancy of flow, a large drop give grounds to evaluate it as a river with huge reserves of hydropower resources. On the Angara, it is possible to build a cascade of hydroelectric power plants with a total capacity of 15 million kW, which can produce 90 billion kWh of electricity, that is, as much as the Volga, Kama, Dnieper and Don combined can provide.
Irkutsk, Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsk hydroelectric power stations were built on the Angara. As a result, the Angara turned into a chain of reservoirs and a deep lake-river highway.
The creation of a cascade of hydroelectric power stations and reservoirs introduced fundamental changes in the hydrobiological regime of the Angara, greatly hindered the natural connection of the river with Baikal, and led to a significant transformation of the species composition of flora and fauna.
The largest left-sided tributaries of the Angara are the Irkut, Kitoy, Belaya, Oka, Uda, Biryusa; small right-sided tributaries - Ushakovka, Kuda, Ida, Osa, Uda, Ilim.
whale
Kitoy is one of the large left-sided tributaries of the Angara River. It flows into the Angara below the dam of the Irkutsk hydroelectric power station. Kitoy is formed from the confluence of two rivers - Samarin and Zhathos, originating on the Nuhu-Daban upland, near the sources of Irkut. The length of Kitoy is 316 km, the catchment area is 9190 sq. km, drop - 1500 m. The main part of the river basin is located in the highlands, only its lower part is in the flat terrain. 2009 rivers and rivers flow into Kitoy with a total length of 5332 km.
Kita feeds on underground, atmospheric and partially glacial waters. Precipitation is of the greatest importance in nutrition. The lowest water levels are at the end of winter, at the beginning of spring. The highest levels are in summer. During the period of intense precipitation, the height of the water rise reaches 4 m.
It freezes in Kitoy in November, opens in April, the duration of freeze-up is 80 - 126 days.
White
Belaya flows into the Angara 106 km below Irkutsk. It is formed from the confluence of the Bolshaya and Malaya Belaya, originating in the bald zone of the Eastern Sayan at an altitude of up to 2500 m. The length of the river is 359 km, the catchment area is 18,000 square meters. km, drop 1750 m.
Belaya flows through a populated mountain area. Its shores are picturesque, often cut off by sheer cliffs to the riverbed. There are rapids and waterfalls in the upper and middle reaches of the river. 1573 rivers and rivers with a total length of 7417 km flow in the Belaya basin.
Meals Belaya mixed. The main source of nutrition (more than 60%) is rain. Precipitation in the White basin causes sharp rises in water levels up to 8 m.
The average annual consumption is 178 cubic meters. m / s, the lowest water flow occurs in February - March and is 16 cubic meters. m/s.
The annual flow of Belaya is 5.6 cubic meters. km, runoff for the period from May to October is more than 80% of the annual. White was used for timber rafting, harvested in its basin.
Selenga
The Selenga is the largest tributary of Lake Baikal. The river starts on the territory of the Mongolian People's Republic, where it is formed from the confluence of the Ider and Muren rivers. The total length of the Selenga is 1591 km. The catchment area is 445,000 sq. km, annual flow - 28.9 cubic meters. km.
The Selenga provides half of the total mass of water entering Baikal from all its tributaries. It flows into the lake in several branches along a wide swampy lowland, forming a delta that extends far into Baikal.
The hydronym "Selenga" comes from the Evenk "sele" - iron. Another version of the origin of the name of the river from the Buryat "Selenge", which means - smooth, spacious, calm.
Barguzin
Barguzin is the third, after the Selenga and the Upper Angara, in terms of water content, a tributary of Baikal. It originates from the slopes of the Barguzinsky Range. The river gives Baikal 7% of its total annual water inflow. The Barguzin flows through the Barguzin depression. The length of the river is 480 km. Its fall from source to mouth is 1344 m. The catchment area of the river is 19,800 square meters. km, annual flow - 3.54 cubic meters. km.
The name of the river comes from the antonym "Barguts" - an ancient Mongol-speaking tribe, close to the Buryats, who once inhabited the Barguzin valley. “Barguts” - comes from the Buryat “barga” - wilderness, wilderness, outskirts.
Rivers of Khamar-Daban
The slopes of the ridge are cut by deep and narrow river valleys, the density of the Khamar-Daban river network is 0.7-0.8 per 1 sq. km. km.
Often there are canyons with steep multi-meter walls and picturesque, bizarre rocks. Such canyons have rivers Snowy, Utulik, Langutai, Selenginka, Hara Murin, Variable. Canyons are rightfully considered impassable, and impassable into big water. Rivers are characterized by an abundance of rapids and waterfalls. Particularly beautiful are the sections of the rivers in the places where they break through the ridge. Almost all rivers of the ridge originate in the pre-bald and bald belts. Their channels are short, with a steep fall. There are many lakes on Khamar-Daban. The largest of them: stalemate, Tagley, Sable. There are dozens of small lakes and waterfalls in cars and circuses.
Lake Baikal differs from many other reservoirs not only in its extraordinary depth, but also in the incredible purity and transparency of the water. Such a great depth is due to the fact that it is located in a crevice of tectonic origin. Many rivers flow into the lake, but only one river carries the Baikal water with it. Quite often there is confusion about which rivers flow into Baikal and how many there are in total. But, as it turned out, these rivers were counted together with streams, and sometimes without them. Some of the shallow watercourses may periodically disappear due to weather conditions. It is now believed that about one and a half hundred of these streams could have disappeared altogether due to the anthropogenic factor.
According to official data, now Baikal has 336 watercourses, one of which, and a very large one, is the river flowing from Baikal - the Angara. Among the tributaries are such large rivers as the Selenga, Turka, Barguzin and Snezhnaya. Among the large tributaries of the lake there is also a river, which, with its name, introduces another confusion - this is the Upper Angara. Many confuse it with the Angara, and therefore the latter is considered a tributary instead of a drain. Smaller rivers of Baikal sometimes have very funny names: Cheryomukhovaya, Golaya, Kotochik, Durnya. The latter, however, does not flow into the lake itself, but into the Kotochik River, which, in turn, flows into Turku, and it already flows into Baikal. Nevertheless, the fact that Fool carries its waters into the "Glorious Sea" remains an irrefutable fact. And there are more than a thousand such rivers and streams! Therefore, if you walk around the entire basin, it will be problematic to count how many rivers flow into Baikal in total. Therefore, we will describe the largest rivers of Baikal.
Naughty daughter of Angara
Breaking down from the heights, the river flowing from Baikal - Angara runs away. At its source is the rock Shaman-stone. Legend has it that Father Baikal threw this stone after his runaway daughter. Love for the hero Yenisei inspired her to this escape, and in fact her father read another hero, whose name was Irkut, to be her suitors. In fact, such a powerful runoff is only beneficial for Baikal. The aforementioned streams flowing into the lake bring unpolluted water, making their way through forest thickets, located far from large industries and highways.
Baikal has another secret of cleanliness - its plankton, teeming with epishura crustaceans that process organic matter. The work of these microscopic creatures is comparable to the action of a distiller. This is where such an unprecedented transparency of water comes from, in which there are very few even dissolved salts.
Angara is a clean and beautiful river with clear and clean water. Its length is 1779 km. The wide species composition of the ichthyofauna makes the Angara a very attractive object for recreational fishing. More than 30 species of fish are found in the river.
Large tributaries of the Angara:
- Taseeva;
- Ilim;
- Chadobets;
- Kamenka;
- Kata and others.
Now it's time to talk about which rivers flow into Baikal. The largest of them is the Selenga. This river flows through the territory (mostly flat) of two states: first Mongolia, and then Russia. She completes her journey, breaking up into a delta near the lake. Almost half of all the water that enters Baikal is brought by the Selenga. It owes its high water to tributaries:
- Jide;
- Temnik;
- Orongoy;
- Chikoya;
- Ude and others.
Of the largest cities on this river are Ulan-Ude - the capital of Buryatia, as well as the Mongolian city of Sukhe Bator. The Mongols are thinking about power plants on the Selenga, and as for the Russian part of the river, they decided not to build hydraulic structures on it, since both the flat course of the river and the absence of large agglomerations cast doubt on the need to block the Selenga with a dam.
If you look at this river on the map, then the elongated shape of Baikal will create such an illusion that the lake is a continuation of the Upper Angara, only in the form of a reservoir. Who knows, maybe millions of years ago, nature itself arranged for itself this wonderful supply of fresh water, opening up such a deep crevice just along the river. At first, it could have been a small flowing lake on the general path of the Angara, but this fact, apparently, has yet to be proved by Baikal researchers.
The river itself in the upper course has a difficult character. It is mountainous, fast, rapids, and even then, when it reaches the plain, it does not stop winding, breaking up into channels, then again uniting in all its might into a single channel, then again there are gaps, but the oxbow lakes do not form from them. The Upper Angara approaches Baikal already quiet and calm: at the northernmost part of the lake it forms a bay with a small depth, which is called the Angara Sor.
A large part of the Baikal-Amur Mainline runs along the Upper Angara. The river itself is navigable, but only in the lower reaches. Among its tributaries are:
- Koter;
- Churo;
- Yangchui;
- Angarakan.
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