Irkutsk, Russia, from the International Space Station. This is a town of nearly 600,000 people (2002), and it is the capital of the Irkutsk Oblast region. It lies on the Angara river, which has been dammed (centre left) to provide the region with hydroelectric power. The dam has led to the widening of the upstream part of the river (at right). The Angara river is the only outlet from Lake Baikal, the largest (by volume) freshwater lake in the world. This lake lies around 60 kilometres to the southeast of Irkutsk. The ISS orbits Earth at an altitude of around 360 kilometres. Photographed on 24th May 2005.