Located in southern Siberia in Russia, Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world (1,700 m) and contains 20 percent of the fresh surface water on the planet. Because of its geologic age and geographic isolation, more than 80 percent of the lake’s freshwater species are found only at Lake Baikal.

A narrow sand spit stretches across the lake’s north end to form Yarki Island, which separates the northernmost shoreline from the open water. This long, discontinuous land surface is the result of accumulated sediments from several rivers flowing in from the north, combined with the interaction of these sediments with incoming waves, wind, and storms from the main lake to the south. The shallow lagoon that is created behind Yarki Island is filled with relatively warm waters and peat deposits, and forms an important bird sanctuary.

This Landsat image shows the area around Yarki Island and northernmost Lake Baikal. The green tones in the lagoon area depict vegetative sediments. The mouth of the Verkhnaya Angara River can be seen on the right side of the image.



The vast archive of Landsat images helps researchers and scientists monitor the Earth’s ecosystems, and provides unbiased evidence of how changes can affect these ecosystems worldwide.