Yenisei River Basin and Lake Baikal (Russia)

Abstract

Rising in northern Mongolia, the Yenisei (sometimes spelled Yenisey) River flows predominantly northwards through Russia into the Kara Sea part of the Arctic Ocean. The largest of the major Siberian rivers, its basin is the fifth largest in the world. A major and important feature of the upper part of the Yenisei River Basin is Lake Baikal, considered the deepest and oldest lake in the world, and a major centre of plant and animal endemism. Although in a remote part of the world, the basin is strongly affected by flow regulation and fragmentation from damming for particularly hydropower for the major industries along its banks exploiting the basin’s rich mineral and forestry resources, and leading to the lower reaches of the river being amongst the most polluted of Arctic rivers.