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'Olkhon' (Ольхон, also transliterated as 'Olchon') is the fourth-largest lake-bound island in the world. It is by far the largest island in Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia, with an area of 730 km² (280 sq. miles).

Contents

Geography

Population

Economy

Culture

History

Footnotes

External links

Geography

Olkhon has a dramatic combination of terrain and is rich in archeological landmarks. Steep mountains line its eastern shore, and at 1,276 m above sea level, Mount Zhima is the tallest point on the island, peaking at 818 m above the water level of Lake Baikal. The island is large enough to have its own lakes, and features a combination of taiga, steppe and even a small desert. A deep strait separates the island from the land.
The island's appearance is a result of millions of years of tectonic movement, resulting in the hollowing of the channel between the land and the block of stone forming the island. The steep slopes of the mountains show the vertical heave of the earth.^[1]

Population

The population of the island is less that 1,500 and consists mostly of Buryats, the island's aboriginal people.
There are several settlements and five villages on the island: Yalga, Malomorets, Khuzir, Kharantsi, and Ulan-Khushin. The village of Khuzir is the administrative capital of Olkhon, designated as such in April 1987, when the Soviet government issued a comprehensive decree protecting Lake Baikal. Khuzhir includes about 1,200 residents, boasts a museum of local nature and history.^[2]

Economy

Most residents are fishermen, farmers, or cattle-ranchers. Due to an increasing number of tourists from all over the world, many residents work in this sector as well and tourism has become an important part of the economy in Olkhon.

Culture

The indigenous Buryats believe the island to be a spiritual place, and on the western coast, close to Khuzhir, is Baikal's most famous landmark, the Shamanka, or Shaman's Rock. Natives believe that Burkhan, a modern religious cult figure of the Altai peoples, lives in the cave in this rock. The rock is one of nine Asian Most Sacred Places. The museum of Olkhon named after Revyakin has a great exposition on the nature and ethnography of the island including smoking pipes and samovars collections.
Olkhon is one of the sacred shamanist center and also considered a centre of Kurumchinskay culture of VI-X centuries.

History

The island has a long history of human habitation. The original indigenous people were the Kurykans, forefathers of two ethnic groups: the Buryats and Yakuts.^[3]
Christopher Hansard asserts that the ''gNam'' Ngagpa Bön lineage of the Northern Treasure School of Jangter Bön, originated here. Hansard then states that the ''gNam'' tribe migrated through Central Asia and there into the ancient Tibet and the Himalaya.
Russian explorers first visited during the 17th century.
During Soviet times deportees were taken to the island, especially Lithuanians after their country was occupied by the Soviets.

Footnotes

1. Olkhon Island
2. Olkhon island
3. Description of Olkhon island

External links

★ Olkhon Island