Mongolia Geography

Located in Eastern Asia, landlocked between huge two neighbors of China and Russia, Mongolia is the world's 19th largest country. The highest point is Khüiten Peak in extreme western Mongolia (4,374 m (14,350 ft)). Huh Nuur, or lake Huh in eastern Mongolia is the lowest point at 560 m (1,840 ft). The country is at a relatively high altitude and has an average elevation of 1,580 m (5,180 ft). The capital, Ulaanbaatar, lies at 1,350 meters. From west to the east border of Mongolia are about 2400 km and about 1260 km from north to south.

Mongolian has four basic vegetation zones: 

1. the mountain forest,
2. the steppe 
3. semi-desert 
4.  the desert. 

The northern part of the country is covered with forests and mountain ranges, while the southern holds the Gobi Desert, desert steppe, and steppe areas with low mountains. Western Mongolia features high snow-capped mountains and glaciers. Eastern Mongolia covers steppe plains and heaths. 

Mountain ranges of Mongolia

Mongolia has three major mountain ranges.
- The highest one, the Altai Mountains, spread from the west to the southwest. 
- The Khangai Mountain range occupy much of central and northern Mongolia.
- The Khentii Mountain range northeast of Ulaanbaatar, near the Russian border, are even lower.

Lakes and rivers of Mongolia
Mongolia has numerous lakes, the largest is Lake Uvs with an area of 3,350 square kilometers, Lake Khovsgol with 2.620 km, and Lake Khar Us with 1.852 km ². The largest rivers are the Orkhon (1124 km), the Kherlen (1090 km), and the Selenge (539 km) 

The Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert covers about one-third of the surface of Mongolia and was on the way to the Silk Road.