| Lake Khuvsgul | |
|---|---|
 Lake Khuvsgul | |
| Coordinates |  51°06′N 100°30′ECoordinates: 51°06′N 100°30′E |
| Type | Ancient lake, Rift lake |
| Primary outflows | Eg River |
| Basin countries | Mongolia |
| Max. length | 136 km (85 mi) |
| Max. width | 36.5 km (22.7 mi) |
| Surface area | 2,760 km2 (1,070 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 138 m (453 ft) |
| Max. depth | 267 m (876 ft) |
| Water volume | 480.7 km3 (115.3 cu mi) |
| Surface elevation | 1,645 m (5,397 ft) |
| Islands | Modon khui, Khadan khui, Modot tolgoi, Baga khui |
| Settlements | Khatgal, Khankh |
Name in
Chakhar Mongolian
language and script,
köbsügül naɣur
Lake Khövsgöl is the largest freshwater lake in Mongolia by volume and second largest by area. It is located near the northern border of Mongolia, about 200 km (124 mi) west of the southern end of Lake Baikal. It is nicknamed the “Younger sister” of those two “sister lakes”.
The lake’s name is also spelled Hovsgol, Khövsgöl, or Huvsgul in English texts. It is called Хөвсгөл нуур Hövsgöl núr in Mongolian, and is also referred to as Хөвсгөл далай Hövsgöl dalai (“Ocean Khövsgöl”) or Далай ээж Dalai éj (“Ocean Mother”).
Geography[edit]
Lake Khuvsgul is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the Russian border, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 metres (5,397 feet) above sea level, 136 kilometres (85 miles) long and 262 metres (860 feet) deep. It is the second-most voluminous freshwater lake in Asia, and holds almost 70% of Mongolia’s fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world.[1] The town of Hatgal lies at the southern end of the lake.
Lake Khuvsgul’s watershed is relatively small, and it has only small tributaries. It is drained at the southern end by the Egiin Gol, which connects to the Selenge and ultimately flows into Lake Baikal. Between the two lakes, its waters travel more than 1,000 km (621 mi), and fall 1,169 metres (3,835 feet), although the line-of-sight distance is only about 200 km (124 mi). Its location in northern Mongolia forms one part of the southern border of the great Siberian taiga forest, where the dominant tree is the Siberian larch (Larix sibirica),
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The southern end of the lake as seen from the ISS in 2017.
Mongolian arats at the lake
The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Bürenkhaan / Mönkh Saridag (3,492 metres (11,457 feet)), whose peak, north of the lake, lies exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The lake freezes over completely in winter, and the ice cover is strong enough to carry heavy trucks; transport routes on its surface offer shortcuts to the normal roads. However, this practice is now forbidden, to prevent pollution of the lake from both oil leaks and trucks breaking through the ice. An estimated 30–40 vehicles have broken through the ice into the lake over the years.[citation needed]
There is a roughly elliptical island in the middle of the lake, named Wooden Boy Island, measuring 3 km east–west and 2 km north–south. It is located about 11 km from the lake’s eastern shore, and 50 km north of the town of Hatgal.[2]
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