The largest peninsula on Lake Baikal, connected to the mainland by an isthmus barely rising above the water level. By geological standards, quite recently, just a few thousand years ago, the Holy Nose Peninsula was an island and was not connected to the mainland. The island was separated from the eastern shore by a narrow strait, and two rivers – Maly Chivyrkui and Barguzin, flowing into Baikal to the south of the island, gradually filled the strait with sand and silt.