From the very moment a new holiday appears on Baikal Day, the weather is beautiful. Perhaps the spirits of heaven and water are convinced by the spells of local shamans, or perhaps the rains recede before the truly popular character of the triumph. The holiday was established in 1999, three years after the lake was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its main goal was to attract the attention of the general public to environmental issues related to Lake Baikal.
At first, Baikal Day was celebrated every fourth Sunday of August every year, but since 2008, the date of celebration has been changed to the second Sunday of September. One of the reasons for the transfer was the desire to extend the tourist season on the "holy sea". First of all, the holiday is magnificently celebrated in the regions adjacent to the lake - Buryatia, Irkutsk and Chita regions. On this day, the participants in the celebration express their love to Baikal, admire its greatness.
The holiday script is rich in folklore and theatrical performances, interesting concert programs. On the Baikal Day, the results of various environmental and local history competitions are summed up, they organize interactive quest games, master classes, quizzes, and implement environmental projects and promotions. At scientific lectures and seminars, the history of Lake Baikal and its condition today are analyzed, and thematic lessons are held in schools dedicated to this outstanding natural site.
Interested organizations deploy their creative platforms in the squares of Irkutsk and in its parks, present public projects, hold exhibitions and invite writers and poets whose work is dedicated to the lake. As part of the celebration, the results of the film festival "Man and Nature" are summed up. Representatives of Russian and international public organizations, teachers involved in environmental education and training, representatives of the administration of different levels, scientists arrive at the celebration.
Why did you get the idea to introduce a new holiday - Baikal Day? Yes, this lake, located near the Mongolian border, in Siberia, is called a natural diamond for its incredible beauty. But are there beauties on the planet? Why do scientists talk about the uniqueness of the natural heritage of this reservoir?
Baikal is the deepest lake on the planet. Its waters are crystal clear and represent the largest “well” in the world: 20% of the strategic fresh water reserves on Earth (23,000 m 3 ) are concentrated here in the Baikal “bowl”. Moreover: 60 cubic meters of this pure life-giving moisture is produced annually by the lake. The legendary daughter of Baikal, Angara, along with her "beloved" - Yenisei - carry these waters to the oceans.
The transparency of Lake Baikal is comparable only with the Sargasso Sea. Even from space, you can see the topography of the bottom at a depth of half a kilometer. The purity of the lake is due to the small crustacean epishura, a half- millimeter brother of shrimp. It is this worker who filters the water to a depth of half a meter, consuming algae and bacteria, saturating the lake with oxygen and being, in turn, a favorite dish of the famous Baikal omul.
The first place is occupied by a reservoir (among all continental) and by the richness of fauna: more than 2.5 thousand species of animals live here, moreover, 2/3 of these inhabitants are found only in Baikal.
Over the past 5 years, the study of the Baikal bottom has been carried out. Scientists are convinced that under the water column there are deposits of archaeological artifacts that can open the veil over many secrets of nature. The exposition of the only museum in Russia dedicated to the lake tells about all this. The Baikal Museum has been operating for 20 years right on the shore, at the origins of the Angara. Visitors are primarily interested in its interactivity: about a million tourists have already visited the aquarium with Baikal water, the arboretum and bathyscaphe.
An ordinary lake lives no more than 15,000 years. Baikal is already over 25 million, and it is not going to grow old! Today, scientists suggest that an outstanding natural object, spreading its shores by 2 centimeters annually, is the embryo of the future ocean. So it is not surprising that Baikal has become one of the seven wonders of Russia, which certainly has plenty to choose from.