N-ice day for a trip to Siberia! Stunning images show the world's deepest lake frozen over, with glassy bubbles trapped beneath the surface
- Siberia's Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, as well as one of the clearest
- Russian photographer Kristina Makeeva captured it during winter, encased in a five to six foot layer of ice
- The natural cracks that form stop fish from suffocating, and the bubbles are from methane released by algae
Lake Baikal has much to recommend it.
It's the oldest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, reaching depths of more than 5,000 feet, stretching for nearly 400 miles across Siberia, and with water so clear you can see 130ft beneath the surface.
Come winter, it becomes encased with a five to six foot-deep layer of ice, trapping air bubbles which look like intricate glass beads rising up from the deep.
Russian photographer Kristina Makeeva, who captured these ethereal images, told Bored Panda that the vast eight-mile-long crevasses seen snaking across the ice form regularly throughout the season, and mean that the fish underneath don't die of oxygen starvation.
'[The cracks make] a loud crack that is reminiscent of thunder or a gun shot,' she explains. 'Generally, the ice of Baikal carries a lot of enigmas, the majority of formations provoke the interest of scientists.'
As for the bubbles, they are a result of methane gas escaping from the lake's algae underneath.
Siberia's magical Lake Baikal, pictured, is the oldest and deepest freshwater lake in the world, as well as one of the clearest
It reaches depths of more than 5,000 feet, stretches for nearly 400 miles across Siberia, and has water so clear you can see 130ft beneath the surface
Come winter, it becomes encased with a five to six foot-deep layer of ice, trapping air bubbles which look like intricate glass beads rising up from the deep
Russian photographer Kristina Makeeva, who captured these ethereal images, says that the vast eight-mile-long cracks form regularly throughout the season, and mean that the fish underneath don't die of oxygen starvation
The mesmerizing bubbles are actually a result of methane gas escaping from the lake's algae far underneath the surface
Ms Makeeva remarks of her images: 'Generally, the ice of Baikal carries a lot of enigmas, the majority of formations provoke the interest of scientists'
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WoW!! Stunning!!!
by Bettyswolloks 118