Lake Malan-Zurchen

Malan-Zurchen is a drainless lake located in the Jerginsky Reserve in Buryatia, on the western side of the Amut basin. The lake is famous for its fluctuations in volume. Over the past three decades, the fluctuation of the water level in the lake reached four meters, and the volume decreased and increased by 9 million cubic meters.

The lake was inhabited by such fish, lake grays as Baikalolen grays, Siberian chars, river golans and Amur spikes. On the banks nests a black-tailed loon, swans, black mallards, hawk owls and white-tailed eagles. There are also river otters, which are recognized as a rare protected species.

Today the lake is fishless. Fishers have almost forgotten the way to this lake, and the fish species mentioned above are no longer found.

This lake is considered interesting due to the ghost island, which appears every ten to fifteen years.