Lake Baikal (Russian: о́зеро Байка́л, pronounce [ˈozʲɪrə bʌjˈkɑl], Buryat: Байгал нуур) is in Southern Siberia in Russia, located between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, near the city of Irkutsk. It is also known as the "Blue Eye of Siberia". It's famous for holding a volume of water larger than that of all the North American Great Lakes combined.