Q 01/05

Lake Baikal is on which continent?

A) Asia

B) Europe

C) Africa

D) Australia

Answer · why

A) Asia

Asia. The lake lies deep in Siberia, far from any ocean, yet it has its own species of seal, the only one in the world that lives solely in fresh wate...

Q 02/05

Lake Baikal, the oldest and most voluminous freshwater lake, is also the world's what?

A) Deepest

B) Longest

C) Widest

D) Highest

Answer · why

A) Deepest

Deepest. Its floor lies more than a kilometre below sea level, even though the lake's surface sits about 455 metres above it.

Q 03/05

Lake Baikal holds roughly what share of all the fresh water on Earth's surface?

A) About 0.2%

B) About 2%

C) About 20%

D) About 60%

Answer · why

C) About 20%

About 20%. That is roughly as much as all five of North America's Great Lakes combined, though Lake Superior alone spreads over more than twice Baikal...

Q 04/05

Roughly how old is Lake Baikal?

A) About 250,000 years

B) About 2.5 million years

C) About 25 million years

D) About 250 million years

Answer · why

C) About 25 million years

About 25 million years. So much time in isolation let evolution run its own course: most of the animal species in the lake live nowhere else on Earth.

Q 05/05

Lake Baikal's surface area is slightly larger than which European country?

A) Netherlands

B) Belgium

C) Denmark

D) Switzerland

Answer · why

B) Belgium

Belgium. Baikal covers more than 31,000 square kilometres, yet it is a long, narrow lake: about 636 km from end to end but less than 80 km across at i...