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How did the Baikal Rift Valley form?

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tectonic basins and rift valleys Escarpments of the Great Rift Valley rising above the plain north of Samburu Game Preserve, central Kenya. Beisa oryxes graze in the foreground.

The Baikal Rift Valley, located in Siberia, is a tectonic basin formed by the movement of the Earth's crust rather than by erosional forces. Unlike many other rift valleys that form over large volcanic domes, the Baikal Rift is associated with distant tectonic forces, specifically those resulting from the collision of India into the Eurasian plate.123

The valley is characterized by an asymmetrical structure, featuring a very steep northwestern edge and a gentler southeastern margin. Its formation is a result of crustal extension, where the brittle crust fractures and segments subside between faults. While many rift valleys are marked by extensive volcanism, such activity is rare or absent in the Baikal region. The valley contains Lake Baikal, which occupies this deep structural hollow and is recognized as the deepest continental body of water on Earth.3412