Lake Baikal lies in Southern Siberia in Russia between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and Buryatia to the southeast near the city of Irkutsk. The origin of the name Baikal comes from Baigal or Байгал which is translated from the Mongolian language as "nature". It is also known as the "Blue Eye of Siberia". Since 1996, it has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
At 1637 meters deep (5314 feet) with its body 1285 meters (4215 feet) below sea level, Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. It is also the largest freshwater lake by volume. It holds approximately 20 percent of the world's total surface fresh water (23,000 cubic kilometers of water). It contains more than 90% of Russia's fresh surface liquid water and is a World Heritage Site. Olkhon, by far the largest island in Lake Baikal, is the second largest lake-bound island in the world (the largest being Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron).

The lake called "the Pearl of Siberia" drew investors from the tourist industry since energy revenues sparked an economic boom. Viktor Grigorov's Grand Baikal in Irkutsk, is one of the investors who planned to build 3 hotels creating 570 jobs. On 2007, the Russian government declared the Baikal region a special economic zone. The popular resort of Listvianka has a 7-storey Hotel Mayak. Baikal is a Unesco world heritage site. The Russian atomic energy firm Rosatom will build a laboratory in Baikal, in conjunction with an international uranium plant and to invest $2.5bn in the region and create 2,000 jobs in the city of Angarsk. Baikal has Omul - a unique and tasty species.