Siberian Russia - Irkutsk City and Lake Baikal

Leaving Mongolia, we had a quick 50 minute flight to the south part of Eastern Siberia, over the south edge of Lake Baikal and into the city of Irkutsk, Russia. It's new territory for me on the next two stops, both in Russia. As usual any new stops tend to be highlights on any trip. The air quality was pretty bad on our day at Lake Baikal so not too many pictures are included. Still, it was athrill to visit Earth's deepest lake!

Northern Mongolia and is rolling hills. The south exposures have grass while the northern ones have trees.

Approaching Lake Baikal, we saw the mountains that form the rift shoulder. Prior to rifting, the area uplifted into a broad dome and these mountains are the surface expression of that doming. The lake is barely visible beyond the mountain to the left.

The western side of the lake has mountains that rise about 1,000 feet above water level

Looking down at the source of the Angara River, the only outlet in all of Lake Baikal. Over 300 streams enter the lake but only one exits it. A small town is strung out along the lake shore called Listvyanka. You can see some of the town running up the valley away from the lake. We visited this town on the land portion of the tour.

The Angara River was dammed near Irkutsk in 1956 and raised Lake Baikal 4.5 feet. The Angara River channel was also flooded and here it is east of Irkutsk.

Another view of the Angara reservoir

The dam is clearly visible in this photo. The river runs from right to left and Lake Baikal is upstream to the right about 30 miles.

Impressive view of the city of Irkutsk, a major Siberian outpost founded in 1661. Many political exiles have been sent here and many of them came to love the location and the city.

The Angara River west of Irkutsk

Irkutsk city center

The style of architecture in Irkutsk is distinct from other parts of Russia and includes many wooden houses, even log cabins.

The first of many Russian Orthodox churches

Old style broom and door

Along the banks of the Angara River near Irkutsk city center

The Epiphany Cathedral

From the park

We visited the Baikal Museum which had excellent exhibits about the geology and ecology of the lake.

A mounted model of the topography of the lake region with drainages

On the lake by boat

The topography continues at this angle or steeper beneath the water. The ultimate depth is 5,350 feet deep - more than a mile. Since the lake level is at about 1,500 feet, the water is up to 4,000 feet below sea level. In addition, up to 24,000 feet of sediment sit on the lake bottom, meaning that bedrock is almost six miles below sea level. This is as deep as the Marianna Trench making this a huge continental rift!

Just three weeks before this, the lake was still frozen but now it is time to sunabth on the rocky shore

The lake supports a unique fauna with many endemic fish, which are smoked and consumed locally. A fresh water seal has evolved here as well.

We always receive special welcomes when we arrive for lunch

This one was especially colorful

The people here seem to be far removed from the political discourse that is often heard. I am sure that if regular people, like us, had a say in how the world operates, there would be so much less suffering and confrontation.

The indigenous population is still evident in this part of Siberia

This was a great stop and now it is on the Moscow

The Great Gobi Desert, Mongolia

Our next stop on this Around the World adventure is Mongolia and the great Gobi Desert. We flew out along the south coast of the Japanese archipelago and over South Korea toward Beijing China. Then across eastern Mongolia into the capital, Ulan Bator.

The valley of Ulan Bator from the 757

The amount of construction going on in this city is nothing less than astounding! I did not recognize the place from my previous visit in 2006. A flood of Chinese, Russian and Japanese money is investing heavily in the metals industry here, mostly gold production.

On our charter flight to to the Gobi

We landed in the capital of the southernmost province, Dalanzadgad and then it was an hour on the seven lane highway into the camp.

Our camp was the famous Three Camel Lodge, a set of nicely appointed gers (pronounced "gaire")

Most of these have en suite bathrooms with showers, two beds, a writing desk and new this year, electricity generated by solar power.

A view of Three Camel Lodge from the basalt lava flow nearby

A ger scenic photograph

An inside view of ger #2

At the camp, the host had provided an incredible array of Mongolian activities for our small group

First up was a wrestling match. This is the most popular sport in Mongolia, a country that always does well in the Olympic events.

There were four wrestlers and there are no weight or height limits, a tradition dating to times when you could not choose your opponent. There are few other rules.

There was also an incredible archery exhibition with women, who shoot from 50 meters out, and men who shoot from 100 meters.

The horses in Mongolia are something to behold. They are strong, feisty and inherently beautiful

A young one week colt was held out from the herd so as not to get hurt

Mongolians learn to ride quite young in the Gobi. These boys were 8 years old.

Roping was one of the activities we watched

Then they had a competition to pick up the herding stick while on a gallop

Coming in for the pick up...

...and success!

We had lovely weather. The elevation at the camp is about 5,000 feet so it was not hot and the clouds were spectacular. The Lodge received snow just 12 days before our visit, a unique event for June.

There are nearby petroglyphs on the basalt rocks

This one shows the bactrian camel, of which there are many nearby, and a horned ungulate

This horse was very well rendered with the eye provided by a vesicle (gas pocket) in the basalt rock

Time to head out and explore the area around the lodge. The area is arid but perhaps at the edge of being called a desert

These are the Flaming Cliffs, a sandstone outcrop that is Cretaceous in age and interpreted as desert dune deposits. They are dated at about 80 million years old.

The unit is about 200 feet thick and is weakly cemented. One could loosen sand grains with the palm of their hand.

A series of calcareous beds suggest that the water table was close to the surface of the dune area. The reason this unit is so well known for such a remote area is because of the dinosaur fauna that has been found here.

And we did find bones at the foot of the cliffs.

This seemed to me to be some kind of a long-bone from a dinosaur

The site was first described and made famous by the Central Asiatic Expeditions in the 1920's, led by Roy Chapman Andrews of the American Museum of Natural History. These expeditions were widely reported on in the United States and are what brought the word "Mongolia" into the American lexicon. The expedition was undertaken to find evidence for early man, but of course, this could not be found in Asia. Instead, they discovered the world's first dinosaur egg nest, shown here in this photo from the Flaming Cliffs. I used this image in my second lecture while flying into Mongolia.

Driving around the area, we saw a nomadic family setting up their ger

These can usually be assembled and disassembled within a matter of hours. In fact, when I drove by the next day, this one looked like it had been lived in for months.

A local vendor who drove his motorcycle 10 miles to sell felt items to members of our group. He was quite cooperative in having his picture taken.

Traditional Mongolian boots

A sandstorm blew up from the dunes located about 50 miles west of Three Camel Lodge

The Gobi is a very special place and one I am privileged to have visited. Next stop, Siberia!