Khongoryn Els (Khongor Sand, zh, 洪戈尔沙漠) also called ''Duut Mankhan'' is popularly known as the "Singing Sands". It lies within the

Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park (, ''Gobi three beauties nature complex'') is a national park in southern Mongolia. The park was established in 1993, and expanded to its current size in 2000. The park, at nearly 27,000 square kilometers, is the ...

in Mongolia. The sand dunes extend to over area.

Location

The dunes extending up to the foot of the high

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The m ...

range, lie about from Dalanzadgad. It is at a distance of along the desert tracks to Bogd in Övörkhangai in the north, and to Bayanlig on the northwest in

Bayankhongor Bayankhongor ( mn, Баянхонгор, lit=''righ soft'', or ''rich sweetheart'') is the capital of the Bayankhongor Province (aimag) in Mongolia. The administration of the Bayankhongor Sum (district) is also located in the same place. The city ...

. Travel through the desert is by vans.

Features

Mongolia has three types of deserts, and some of it has enough grass for livestock to graze, but the Khongoryn Els, in the extreme south of the

Gobi Desert The Gobi Desert (Chinese: 戈壁 (沙漠), Mongolian: Говь (ᠭᠣᠪᠢ)) () is a large desert or brushland region in East Asia, and is the sixth largest desert in the world. Geography The Gobi measures from southwest to northeast an ...

, has a huge range of sand dunes – wide, long ( is also mentioned) and rising to a height of (a maximum height to the apex can be ). They are similar to the dunes of Egypt. The sands have attractive curves which end in a sharp edge, making wave like patterns on the sand. They continually change shape due to wind and reflect yellow-white colours as the intensity of light changes during the day. As the sand is moved due to winds or is in the process of collapse due to small avalanches, a strong sound is made giving it the name "Singing Sands." A French team has explained this phenomenon as due to a thin surface coating of slate over the sand grains which causes the sand to make a resonant sound. The sound is also attributed to heat, the weather conditions in the desert and to the avalanche effect caused by the sand particles moving harmoniously. This sound is also compared to the sound made by an aircraft during take-off and landing stages. Its length and width vary. The largest of these dunes is found in the northwestern end of the range. The northern border of the dunes is skirted by a small river, the Khonggoryn Gol, where green pastures are noted. The river is sourced by subterranean flows from the mountains forming its valley. Grazing by camels and horses of the nomadic population of the area is noted. The wildlife recorded consist of Saker falcons,

Pallas's sandgrouse Pallas's sandgrouse (''Syrrhaptes paradoxus'') is a medium to large bird in the sandgrouse family. Naming Marco Polo mentions a bird called ''Bargherlac'' (from Turkmen ''bağırlak'') in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', published around 1300. ...

and

Saxaul sparrow The saxaul sparrow (''Passer ammodendri'') is a passerine bird of the Old World sparrow, sparrow family (biology), family Passeridae, found in parts of Central Asia. At and , it is among the larger sparrows. Both sexes have plumage ranging from ...

, Corsac fox or

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{coord missing, Mongolia Deserts of Mongolia Ecoregions of Asia Geography of Inner Mongolia Biota of Mongolia