RU-2118263 Lake Baikal, Russia

Lake Baikal (о́зеро Байка́л) meaning "nature lake" is a rift lake in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between the Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast.
 
Lake Baikal is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the world, containing roughly 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water and at 1,642 m the deepest. Despite its great depth, the lake's waters are well-mixed and well-oxygenated.  It is also among the clearest of all lakes, and thought to be the world's oldest lake at 25 million years. It is the 7th largest lake in the world by surface area.

Frozen water of Lake Baikal



The lake is completely surrounded by mountains. It contains 27 islands; the largest, Olkhon, is 72 km long and is the third-largest lake-bound island in the world. The lake is fed by as many as 330 inflowing rivers. The main ones draining directly into Baikal are the Selenga River, the Barguzin River, the Upper Angara River, the Turka River, the Sarma River and the Snezhnaya River.  Lake Baikal is drained through a single outlet, the Angara River.

I received this postcard from Victoria (sovetskaya) 18 Nov 2013 Postcrossing.