Editing Irkutsk Oblast (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Bgisu P5200477 ss.jpg|thumb|left|Spring at the [[Botanic Garden of the Irkutsk State University|Irkutsk Botanic Garden]]. The pink blooming bushes in the middle are a relic plant, ''[[Prunus pedunculata]]''. ''[[Picea pungens]]'' trees are in the backdrop.]]

Irkutsk Oblast borders the [[Republic of Buryatia]] and the [[Tuva Republic]] in the south and southwest, which separate it from [[Khövsgöl Province]], [[Mongolia]]; [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]] in the west; the [[Sakha Republic]] in the northeast; and [[Zabaykalsky Krai]] in the east. 

[[Lake Baikal]], the oldest<ref name="touchstone">{{cite web|url= http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/baikal/|title= Lake Baikal – A Touchstone for Global Change and Rift Studies|publisher= [[United States Geological Survey]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120629180319/http://marine.usgs.gov/fact-sheets/baikal/|archive-date= 29 June 2012|access-date= 3 January 2016}}</ref> and deepest<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-07-26 |title=Deepest lakes in the World 2024 |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/deepest-lakes-in-the-world-2024/articleshow/111843110.cms |access-date=2025-03-13 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref> lake in the world (containing over a fifth of Earth's fresh liquid surface water),<ref>{{cite book|author1= Schwarzenbach, Rene P. |author2= Philip M. Gschwend |author3= Dieter M. Imboden | title= Environmental Organic Chemistry | year= 2003 | publisher= Wiley Interscience | edition= 2 | page= 1052 | isbn= 978-0-471-35053-8}}</ref> is located in the southeast of the region. It is drained by the [[Angara River|Angara]], which flows north across the province; the outflow rate is controlled by the [[Irkutsk Dam]]. The two other major dams on the Irkutsk Oblast's section of the Angara are [[Bratsk Dam|at Bratsk]] and [[Ust-Ilimsk Dam|Ust-Ilimsk]]; both forming large reservoirs. The [[Lena River|Lena]] has its source in Irkutsk Oblast as well, and flows north-east into the neighboring Sakha Republic.

Irkutsk Oblast consists mostly of the hills and broad valleys of the [[Central Siberian Plateau]], with the [[Lena-Angara Plateau]]. The [[Primorsky Range]] and the [[Baikal Mountains]] stretch along Lake Baikal, and in the northeast rise the [[North Baikal Highlands]] and the [[Patom Plateau]]. [[Pik Tofalariya]] is the highest point of the oblast.

===Climate===
The climate varies from warm summer [[Continental climate|continental]] in the south to continental-subarctic in the northern part ([[Köppen climate classification#Group D: Continental/microthermal climates|Köppen climate classification]]: ''Dwc''). For almost half the year, from mid-October until the beginning of April, the average temperature is below {{convert|0|C}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icc.ru/fed/climat.html |title=WWW Irkutsk: The climate of Irkutsk |access-date=2006-09-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827213235/http://www.icc.ru/fed/climat.html |archive-date=August 27, 2006 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Winters are very cold, with average high temperatures in Irkutsk of {{convert|-14.9|C}} and average lows of {{convert|-25.3|C}} in January. Summers are warm but short: the average high in July is {{convert|+24.5|C}} and the average low is {{convert|+11.2|C}}. However, by September, the weather cools down significantly to an average daily high of {{convert|+15.3|C}} and an average daily low of {{convert|+2.5|C}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N52E104+1200+0048321G2|title=IRKUTSK, Weather History and Climate Data|access-date=December 5, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304122450/http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N52E104+1200+0048321G2|archive-date=March 4, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N52E104+1204+0048321G2|title=IRKUTSK, Weather History and Climate Data|access-date=December 5, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304190149/http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N52E104+1204+0048321G2|archive-date=March 4, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref>  More than half of all [[precipitation (meteorology)|precipitation]] falls in the [[summer]] months, with the wettest month being July, with {{convert|96.2|mm|sp=us}} of rain. January is the driest month, with only {{convert|11|mm|sp=us}} of precipitation. Annual precipitation averages {{convert|419.8|mm|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N52E104+2100+30710W|title=IRKUTSK, FORMER UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS Weather History and Climate Data|access-date=December 5, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191608/http://www.worldclimate.com/cgi-bin/data.pl?ref=N52E104+2100+30710W|archive-date=March 4, 2016|df=mdy-all}}</ref>