Munkhkhairkhan National Park ( mn, Мөнххайрхан) is centered on

Mönkhkhairkhan Mountain Mönhhairhan Mountain ( mn, Мөнххайрхан уул, Mönhhairhan uul, ; "Holy eternal mountain") is the second highest mountain in Mongolia, located in the Bayan-Ölgii Province. See also * List of mountains in Mongolia * List of Ultra ...

, the second highest mountain in Mongolia. The park straddles

Bayan-Ölgii Province Bayan-Ölgii ( mn, Баян-Өлгий, ; xal, Байн-Өлгий, ; kk, Бай-Өлке / Bai-Ölke, ; "Rich region") is the westernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The country's only Muslim and Kazakh-majority aimag, it was ...

and

Khovd Province Khovd ( mn, Ховд, Howd, ) is one of the 21 aimags (provinces) of Mongolia, located in the west of the country. Its capital is also named Khovd. The Khovd province is approximately 1,580 km from Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital. It take ...

in the Mongol-Altai Mountains of western Mongolia, 15 km from the border with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Topography

The park's area runs for northwest-to-southeast along the ridge of the mountain, with a width of 30 km that takes in rivers and lakes in the adjoining valleys. Munkh Kharirkhan's highest peak, Noyon, rises to an elevation of in the Mongol-Altai Range of the

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 ...

. The mountain features glaciers and snowfields, with glacial activity leaving steep slopes of rock and gravel.

Climate and ecoregion

The climate of the area is ''

Cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

'' (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

(BSk)). This climate is characteristic of steppe climates intermediary between desert humid climates, and typically have precipitation is above

evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...

. At least one month averages below . Precipitation in the Munkhkhairkhan region averages 76 - 158 mm/year.

Flora and fauna

The valleys and low foothills area covered with shrubs, sagebrush and other dry steppe vegetation. Higher elevations support mountain meadows with grasses such as

Koeleria ''Koeleria'' is a common and widespread genus of plants in the grass family, found on all continents except Antarctica and on various oceanic islands. It includes species known generally as Junegrasses. The genus was named after German botanis ...

. The park reports 15 square kilometers of Larch forest along the rivers in the lowest valleys.

References

External links

Park borders, Munkhkhairkhan-Uenchiin khavtsal National Park, ProtectedPlanet.net
{{National parks of Mongolia National parks of Mongolia