Lake Baikal (Russian:о́зеро Байка́л, tr.Ozero Baykal;IPA:[ˈozʲɪrə bɐjˈkɑl]; Buryat:Байгал нуур, Mongolian:Байгал нуур, Baygal nuur, etymologically meaning, in Mongolian, "the Nature Lake") is a rift lake in Russia, located in southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast.