Gaby
Building in the mountains, in the forest, or on the steppe is one thing. Constructing near a large lake is quite another. Experts assert that before erecting a city, port, or train station near a lake, it’s crucial to understand the fluctuations in water levels over the past 300 or at least 200 years.
Such information was needed by the builders who recently arrived on the shores of Lake Baikal. But who could provide them with the answers? In these areas, not only had there never been observation posts, but hunters had also not ventured here for years.
Yet construction had to proceed without delay. A solution was found. The witnesses were the larches, pines, and cedars. Scientists managed to “interview” them and gather the necessary information. Botanists observed that the forest grows around Baikal, almost reaching the water’s edge. They cut down one pine tree and determined its age—520 years. It began its life in 1438. However, at the age of fifteen, it faced a calamity—the water in the lake rose, and the heavy Baikal wave damaged the bark of the young pine. The wound healed with thick resin, but the mark has remained to this day.
About a thousand trees were felled. Each one was sliced, polished, and studied. The trees revealed that the water level in Baikal fluctuates year after year, but it has never risen more than 3 meters in the last 500 years.
