RAS question
Lake Baikal in Russia is the world's:
Correct answer: (B) Deepest lake and largest freshwater lake by volume.
Lake Baikal, in Siberia, Russia, is the world's deepest lake and the largest freshwater lake by volume.
Explanation
Lake Baikal in Siberia is more than a large freshwater lake. For RAS, what matters most is its combination of two global records: depth and freshwater volume. NASA Earth Observatory identifies it as the world's oldest and deepest freshwater lake and the largest freshwater lake by volume. It holds roughly as much fresh water as all of the North American Great Lakes combined. Baikal reaches about 1,642 metres, contains about 20% of the world's unfrozen surface fresh water, and is about 25-30 million years old. Its UNESCO World Heritage status, endemic biodiversity, Baikal seal, and the Trans-Siberian Railway along its southern shore are further identifiers. Thus, option B is correct; options A, C, and D concern salinity, navigable-lake altitude, and surface area, respectively.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Dead Sea, not Baikal, is associated with extreme salinity; Baikal is a freshwater lake.
- (C) Baikal is not the highest navigable lake; that record is associated with Lake Titicaca.
- (D) Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume, not the largest lake by surface area; the Caspian Sea holds the surface-area record.
Concept
World geography ranks major lakes separately by depth, volume, salinity, altitude, and surface area. RAS often tests these similar-sounding records because the correct lake changes with the criterion, making them easy to confuse.