Khatgal ( mn, Хатгал, ) is a village in

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

on the southern tip of

Lake Khövsgöl 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 sist ...

. Khatgal has an

airstrip An aerodrome (Commonwealth English) or airdrome (American English) is a location from which aircraft flight operations take place, regardless of whether they involve air cargo, passengers, or neither, and regardless of whether it is for publ ...

and a small port, plus a school and a post / telecom office. There is a wooden bridge nearby over the

Eg River The Egiin Gol ( mn, Эгийн гол) is a river in the Khövsgöl and Bulgan aimags in northern Mongolia. It is the only outflow of Lake Khövsgöl and a left tributary of the Selenge river. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .< ...

History

Khatgal was founded in 1727 as a camp of the Mongolian watch post system. By 1910, a small settlement had formed, mainly through trade with Russia. In 1914 a telegraph connection was established from the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

n border town of Mondy to

Uliastai Uliastai ( mn, Улиастай; ), also spelled Uliyasutai or Oulia-Sontai, and sometimes known as Javkhlant, is a city in Mongolia located in the western part of the country and from the capital Ulaanbaatar. Uliastai is the capital of Zavkhan P ...

via Khatgal, and in 1921, about 150 Russian settlers lived in Khatgal. In the same year, Khatgal became an administrative center in the region. In 1931 it became the center of the newly established Khövsgöl Aimag, but shortly afterwards in 1933 the administration moved to

Mörön Mörön ( mn, Мөрөн;, lit=river), also spelled Murun, is the administrative center of Khövsgöl Aimag (province) in northern Mongolia. Before 1933, Khatgal had been the aimag capital. It has 12,286 families and a population of 46,918, an ...

. The town had about 7000 inhabitants and a power plant in 1990, but the dry-up of transport routes and the closure of a local wool factory have led to high migration rates, leaving only 3,756 inhabitants in 1994 and 2,498 inhabitants in the 2000 census. The latest official population estimate is 2,796 (December 31, 200

. Khatgal also lost its status as a town and is now administratively part of the Alag-Erdene, Khövsgöl, Alag-Erdene Sum. In 2007, Khatgal was connected to the Mongolian central power grid and to cell phone services.

State Great Khural The State Great Khural, ; "State Great Assembly" is the unicameral parliament of Mongolia.Montsame News Agency. ''Mongolia''. 2006, Foreign Service office of Montsame News Agency, , p. 40 It is located in the Government Palace. History ;1 ...

member and former health minister

Lamjavyn Gündalai Lamjavyn Gündalai ( mn, Ламжавын Гүндалай) is a Mongolian politician. He has been a member of parliament since 2000 and served as Minister of Health from January 2006 to January 2007. Gündalai was born in Khatgal, Khövsgöl ...

was born in Khatgal.

Economy

Due to Khatgal's status as an access point to campsites along the west coast of

, tourism has become one of the largest sectors of the town's economy. This is amplified by the construction of an airport in the town in 200

MIAT Mongolian Airlines MIAT (Mongolyn Irgenii Agaaryn Teever (Монголын Иргэний Агаарын Тээвэр , Mongolian Civil Air Transport)) Mongolian Airlines, ; "Mongolian Civil Air Transport" is the national airline of Mongolia, headquartered in the ...

lists the town on its domestic schedule.

Climate

Khatgal experiences a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Dwc'') with very long, very dry, frigid winters and short, cool, relatively wet summers. Sunshine is abundant year-round and is especially high during the winter for a location above the 50th parallel north.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khatgal, Khovsgol Districts of Khövsgöl Province Populated places established in 1727

History

Economy

Climate

See also

References