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95

lake baikal »

SIBERIA, RUSSIA

The sublimely beautiful Lake Baikal

in southeast Siberia is a place of

superlatives: It is the world’s oldest

(25 million years) and deepest (5,387

ft/1,642 m) lake. It is also one of the

largest (12,248 sq mi/31,722 sq km)

and contains an estimated 20 percent

of the world’s free-flowing fresh

water. It has more than 1,000 plant

and 1,500 animal species, 80 percent

of them endemic.

A fisherman hauls nets on a horse-

drawn sleigh over frozen Lake Baikal.

94

simien

national park

ETHIOPIA

It has been called Africa’s Grand Can-

yon: a high and undulating plateau in

Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains that over

millions of years has been massively

eroded to form vast gorges, dizzying

precipices, jagged peaks, and gigantic

canyons that in places are 5,000 feet

(1,500 m) deep.

The Simien Mountains in northern

Ethiopia, Africa’s “Grand Canyon,” is

also a World Heritage site.

96

socotra

YEMEN

Socotra, 220 miles (355 km) from the

Yemen mainland, is among the world’s

most important centers of biodiversity,

combining elements of Africa, Asia,

and Europe in one tiny four-island

archipelago. Its plants and animals

have adapted to a range of landscapes,

from the hot dry lowlands to the mist-

shrouded granite peaks of the Hajhir

Mountains at the islands’ heart.

The strange dragon’s blood tree is a

feature of the Socotra archipelago.

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