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Mongolia · Lakes

Largest Lakes in Mongolia

Uvs Nuur is the largest of the 13 lakes recorded for Mongolia, at 3,302 km², ahead of Khövsgöl Nuur at 2,764 km². The full list follows.

How this list is built: Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake. It covers the lakes indexed in YearMaps, drawn from open geospatial data, and is not an exhaustive national register.

Lakes Listed
13
Top Ranked
3,302 km²
Uvs Nuur
Second
2,764 km²
Khövsgöl Nuur
Profiled Below
5
Photo, encyclopedia text and figures
Largest Lakes in Mongolia
#NameSurface Area
1Uvs Nuur3,302 km²
2Khövsgöl Nuur2,764 km²
3Har Us Nuur1,549 km²
4Khyargas Nuur1,350 km²
5Har Nuur937 km²
6Buyr Nuur603 km²
7Achit Nuur290 km²
8Reg Nuur224 km²
9Telmen Nuur193 km²
10Sangiyn Dalay Nuur181 km²
11Airag Lake138 km²
12Dood-Tsagaan Nuur89 km²
13Hh Nuur79 km²

The Lakes of Mongolia in Detail

The 5 lakes above that have an encyclopedia article, in the same order, each with its photograph, figures and the places around it.

Uvs Nuur
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Uvs Nuur

Alkaline Lake · 3,302 km²

Uvs Nuur is a alkaline lake in Mongolia and Russia, with a mapped surface area of about 3,302 km². About 100% of its surface lies in Mongolia, and the rest in Russia.

Uvs Lake (Mongolian: Увс нуур [ˌʊɸs‿ˈnʊːr], ᠤᠪᠰᠤ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ [ubsu naɣur]) is a highly saline lake, contained within the endorheic basin named after it—Uvs Nuur Basin. It is primarily located in Mongolia, with a smaller part in Russia. It is the largest lake in Mongolia by surface area, covering 3,350 km2 at 759 m above sea level. The northeastern tip of the lake is situated in the Tuva Republic of the Russian Federation. The largest settlement near the lake is Ulaangom. This shallow and very saline body of water is a remainder of a huge saline sea which covered a much larger area several thousand years ago.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Uvs Lake (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Surface area
3,302 km²
Area rank
#62 of 756 indexed
Type
Alkaline Lake
Countries
Mongolia, Russia
Coordinates
50.3089°, 92.7273°

Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Uvs Nuur ranks #62 by surface area, after Lake Van (3,503 km²) and ahead of Zeya Reservoir (3,270 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.

Settlements on the shore:
Ulaangom (60 km), Olgiy (253 km), Dund-Us (268 km)
Watercourses:
Chulyshman (River), Kyzyl-Khem (River)
Other water nearby:
Khyargas Nuur (1,350 km²), Airag Lake (138 km²)

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More about Uvs Nuur

Geography

Uvs Lake has a length of 84 km and a width of 79 km, with an average depth of 6 m. Its basin is separated from the rest of the Great Lakes Depression by the Khan Khökhii ridge.

The main feeding rivers are the Baruunturuun, Nariin Gol, and Tes (primary feed of the lake) from Khangai Mountains in the east, and the Kharkhiraa River and Sangil Gol from the Altai Mountains in the west.

Ecology

The very large catchment area with no exit results in highly saline water, primarily due to sulphate and sodium ions. It has a salinity of 18.8 per mille, or 1.88%, making it half as salty as the oceans. The lake freezes over from October to May. In summer, it exhibits a temperature gradient from 25 °C at the surface to 19 °C at the bottom. 29 different species of fish are known from Uvs Lake, and one of them, the Potanini altai osman (Oreoleuciscus potanini), is suitable for human consumption.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Uvs Lake (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Uvs Nuur: Key Facts

Key facts about Uvs Nuur
Surface area3,350 km²
Maximum depth20 m
Surface elevation759 m
InflowsNariin-Gol, Tes

Facts from Wikidata Q81150 (CC0).

Khövsgöl Nuur
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Khövsgöl Nuur

Lake · 2,764 km²

Khövsgöl Nuur is a lake in Mongolia, with a mapped surface area of about 2,764 km².

Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур), also referred to as Khövsgöl Sea (Хөвсгөл далай), is a lake in Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia. It is the largest freshwater lake in the country by volume, and the second largest by area after Uvs Lake. It is nicknamed "Mother Sea" (Далай ээж, Dalai eej) in Mongolian.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Khövsgöl (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Surface area
2,764 km²
Area rank
#73 of 756 indexed
Type
Lake
Country
Mongolia
Coordinates
51.2294°, 100.5227°

Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Khövsgöl Nuur ranks #73 by surface area, after Alakol (2,834 km²) and ahead of Lake Peipus (2,758 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.

Settlements on the shore:
Mörön (178 km), Usolye Sibirskoye (274 km), Angarsk (276 km)
Watercourses:
Kyzyl-Khem (River), Selenga (River)
Other water nearby:
Uvs Nuur (3,302 km²), Khyargas Nuur (1,350 km²)

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More about Khövsgöl Nuur

Geography

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. 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.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Khövsgöl (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Khövsgöl Nuur: Key Facts

Key facts about Khövsgöl Nuur
Surface area2,760 km²
Maximum depth262 m
Surface elevation1,645 m
OutflowsEg River

Facts from Wikidata Q192215 (CC0).

Khyargas Nuur
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Khyargas Nuur

Alkaline Lake · 1,350 km²

Khyargas Nuur is a alkaline lake in Mongolia, with a mapped surface area of about 1,350 km².

Khyargas Lake (Mongolian: Хяргас нуур) is a salt lake in Khyargas district, Uvs Province, Western Mongolia.

Some sources are using different Khyargas Lake statistics values:

The Khyargas Lake National Park is based on the lake. This protected area was established in 2000 and covers about 3,328 km2. It also includes a freshwater Airag Lake.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Khyargas Nuur (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Surface area
1,350 km²
Area rank
#152 of 756 indexed
Type
Alkaline Lake
Country
Mongolia
Coordinates
49.2029°, 93.2186°

Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Khyargas Nuur ranks #152 by surface area, after Represa Tres Marias (1,352 km²) and ahead of Lac-à-l'Eau-Claire (1,341 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.

Settlements on the shore:
Ulaangom (120 km), Dund-Us (176 km), Olgiy (240 km)
Watercourses:
Kyzyl-Khem (River), Chulyshman (River)
Other water nearby:
Airag Lake (138 km²), Uvs Nuur (3,302 km²)

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More about Khyargas Nuur

Khyargas Nuur: Key Facts

Key facts about Khyargas Nuur
Surface area1,407 km²
Maximum depth80 m
Surface elevation1,028 m
InflowsZavkhan River

Facts from Wikidata Q1125601 (CC0).

Achit Nuur
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Achit Nuur

Lake · 290 km²

Achit Nuur is a lake in Mongolia, with a mapped surface area of about 290 km².

Achit Lake (; Mongolian: Ачит нуур [átɕʰɪtʰ nʊ́ːr]) is a freshwater lake in Bayan-Ölgii Province and Uvs Province, Mongolia, in the west of the country. At an elevation of 1,435 m above sea level it covers an area of 290 km2. It is 28 km long, 16 km wide, and 10 m deep. The coast is covered with steppes, mostly hilly but swampy on the northwest and northeast. Several rivers flow into the lake.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Achit Lake (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Surface area
290 km²
Area rank
#420 of 756 indexed
Type
Lake
Country
Mongolia
Coordinates
49.4879°, 90.5270°

Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Achit Nuur ranks #420 by surface area, after Wheeler Lake (291 km²) and ahead of Minnitaki Lake (289 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.

Settlements on the shore:
Olgiy (75 km), Ulaangom (124 km), Dund-Us (183 km)
Watercourses:
Chulyshman (River), Katun (River)
Other water nearby:
Uvs Nuur (3,302 km²), Khyargas Nuur (1,350 km²)

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More about Achit Nuur

Achit Nuur: Key Facts

Key facts about Achit Nuur
Surface area290 km²
Maximum depth10 m
Volume0.67 km³
Surface elevation1,435 m
InflowsMogen-Buren

Facts from Wikidata Q968728 (CC0).

Airag Lake
Image via Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on the file page).

Airag Lake

Alkaline Lake · 138 km²

Airag Lake is a alkaline lake in Mongolia, with a mapped surface area of about 138 km².

Airag Lake is a lake in Zavkhan, Uvs Province, Mongolia in the Great Lakes Depression. It is in a system of the interconnected lakes: Khar-Us, Khar, Dörgön, and Khyargas.

The lake was in the same basin as the Khyargas Lake in ancient times.

The depth of the lake generally varies with the inflow river flow. The lake flows into Khyargas Lake along a 5 km long, 200–300 m wide canal, which does not freeze in winter.

During the summer the lake warms up almost to the very bottom. Even in winter, the temperature remains fairly constant, 1 - 2.5 °C. Compared to other lakes, the water is not very clear.

Adapted from Wikipedia: Airag Lake (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Surface area
138 km²
Area rank
#566 of 756 indexed
Type
Alkaline Lake
Country
Mongolia
Coordinates
48.8916°, 93.4580°

Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Airag Lake ranks #566 by surface area, after Iken Aqsuat Kli (140 km²) and ahead of Ozero Ayan (137 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.

Settlements on the shore:
Ulaangom (158 km), Dund-Us (166 km), Olgiy (256 km)
Watercourses:
Kyzyl-Khem (River), Chulyshman (River)
Other water nearby:
Khyargas Nuur (1,350 km²), Uvs Nuur (3,302 km²)

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More about Airag Lake

Airag Lake: Key Facts

Key facts about Airag Lake
Surface area143 km²
Maximum depth10 m
Surface elevation1,030 m
InflowsZavkhan River

Facts from Wikidata Q2426550 (CC0).

More on Mongolia

Quick Answers

What is the largest lake in Mongolia?
Uvs Nuur, at 3,302 km². Khövsgöl Nuur is second at 2,764 km². Rankings cover the lakes indexed in YearMaps.
How many lakes are there in Mongolia?
YearMaps lists 13 lakes for Mongolia. This is the number mapped in the atlas, not an official national count.