Short facts about the geography of Mongolia
| Location: |
Northern Asia, between China and
Russia |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
46 00 N, 105 00
E |
| Area: |
total: 1.565 million sq km
land: 1.565 million sq
km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area -
comparative: |
slightly smaller than
Alaska |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 8,161.9 km
border countries: China 4,676.9 km, Russia
3,485 km |
| Coastline: |
0 km
(landlocked) |
| Maritime
claims: |
none
(landlocked) |
| Climate: |
desert; continental (large daily and
seasonal temperature ranges) |
| Terrain: |
vast semidesert and desert plains,
grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in
south-central |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Nayramadlin Orgil
(Huyten Orgil) 4,374 m |
| Natural
resources: |
oil, coal, copper, molybdenum,
tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron,
phosphate |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 5.7%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent
pastures: 81%
forests and woodland:
11.4%
other: 1.9% (2000
est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
800 sq km (1993
est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
dust and snow storms, grassland and
forest fires, drought and "zud", which is a combination of drought followed by
harsh winter conditions |
| Environment
- current issues: |
limited natural fresh water resources
in some areas; policies of the former communist regime promoting rapid
urbanization and industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative
effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal in power plants and the
lack of enforcement of environmental laws have severely polluted the air in
Ulaanbaatar; deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to
agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and rain;
desertification and mining activities have also had a deleterious effect on the
environment |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but
not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
| Geography -
note: |
landlocked; strategic location between
China and Russia | Source: World Factbook |
