Lake Baikal was surrounded by dozens of forest fires in late May, including fires close to cities such as Irkutsk and Bratsk. Many of the region's summer homes (“dachas”) in the mountains surrounding the lake were threatened. The fires are reminiscent of fires at Lake Tahoe in 2007.



Little was known of Lake Baikal until the Trans-Siberian railway built between 1896 and 1902. The scenic loop around the lake required 200 bridges and 33 tunnels. During this period, engineers determined that Lake Baikal contains as much water as all of North America’s Great Lakes combined--about one fifth of the total fresh water on the earth.


The images are from NASA and Earth Google.