Mongolia Uvs Lake

LOCATION: 1460 km from Ulaanbaatar, 36 km from Ulaangom, a central town of Uvs province in the northwestern part of Mongolia.

The saline lake Uvs is the largest lake in Mongolia covers 3350 sq.kilometer surface area. A small part of the lake sticks into Russia. Uvs is a 10-20 m deep relatively shallow lake with a width of 79 km and a length of 84 km.
679600-hectare area of Uvs Lake basin comprises of alpine mountains, snow-capped mountains, steppes, several smaller lakes, semi-desert including 180 long Altan and Buurug Del sand dunes. The basin was set as a strictly protected area to protect its flora, fauna, distinctive natural formations, and historical site. Uvs Lake basin is a Central Asian largest untouched Inland watershed. About Uvs lake, 38 rivers feed the lake such as Baruunturuun River, Nariin River, Kharkhiraa River, and Sangil River from the Altai Mountains.

The primary feed Tes River has its source in Bulnai Mountain range in Mongolia and flows through the Tuvan Republic in Russian Federation. Then, the river feeds back into Uvs Lake in Mongolia. Its delta is some 40 km wide and is an important wildlife habitat including the waterfowls.

The Uvs lake basin geo-climatic boundary between Siberia and Central Asia has an extraordinary temperature range; the lowest winter temperature -58 °C has been recorded here. The temperatures can rise to 45 °C in summer.

The depression is home to 173 bird species and 41 mammal species, including the globally endangered snow leopard, argali, Roe deer, musk deer, and Asiatic ibex. In Uvs Lake basin, the world's most northern desert meets the world's most southern tundra zone. The lowest point of the Uvs Lake basin is 758.9 m above the sea level while the highest point is 4037 m Kharkiraa Mountain snow-capped peak.
In 2003, the UNESCO listed the Uvs Lake Basin as a natural World Heritage Site. It was nominated due to its spectacular nature, habitats and is one of the largest intact watersheds in Central Asia. There are about 40,000 archeological sites of historically famous nomadic tribes such as the Scythians, the Turks, and the Huns.