Üüreg Lake (, , ''Üüreg nuur'', zh, 乌雷格湖) is a saline lake in an

endorheic basin An endorheic basin ( ; also endoreic basin and endorreic basin) is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water (e.g. rivers and oceans); instead, the water drainage flows into permanent ...

in Sagil, Uvs Province,

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, north-west of the Great Lakes Hollow, near the western edge of the Uvs Nuur basin. The Tsagaan river gorge (''Tsagaan Shuvuut Uul'') lies on the west side of the lake.

Geography

The shores of the lake are slightly sloping and smooth, without bays or peninsulas. Several rivers flow into the lake, but most are intermittent. The largest river with a constant flow is the Khari River, which flows into the northwest of the lake. Swamp-type shrubs and swamps grow near the mouth of the Khari River. The lake water is salty due to high evaporation and no outflow. The Üüreg Lake depression is a desert, so there is a lot of evaporation from the water surface. The average annual evaporation is 800-900 mm. In addition to the inflow of rivers, this water loss is offset by rainfall and groundwater. The general salinity of the water is 4.17 g/L. Uureg Nuur

Flora and fauna

Khankhukhii Mountain, Tokhtoshin-Shil Mountains, Kharkhiraa Turgen mountains, Ulias glass forest, high mountain, rock

argali The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild ovis, sheep native to the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian language, Mongolian ...

, ram, deer, antelope, leopard, lynx, ibex, marten, pig, wolf, roe deer, wolf, fox, squirrel, ptarmigan, ''rain'', Siberian capercaillie, partridge, hazel grouse,

mountain hare The mountain hare (''Lepus timidus''), also known as blue hare, tundra hare, variable hare, white hare, snow hare, alpine hare, and Irish hare, is a species of Palearctic hare that is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. Evolution ...

Siberian chipmunk The Siberian chipmunk (''Eutamias sibiricus''), also called common chipmunk, is a species of chipmunk native to northern Asia from central Russia to China, Korea, and Hokkaidō in northern Japan. It was imported from South Korea and introduced i ...

corsac fox The corsac fox (''Vulpes corsac''), also known simply as a corsac, is a medium-sized fox found in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Central Asia, ranging into Mongolia and northern China. Since 2004, it has been classified as ''least concer ...

, manul, badger, stinking brown , artichoke, rabbit, marmot, squirrel, rainbow partridge , Mongolian five-toed jerboa,

desman Desmans are aquatic insectivores of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae) in the mole (animal), mole family, Talpidae. This tribe consists of two living species found in Europe: the Russian desman (''Desmana moschata'') ...

, Mongolian ground jay, bozlog and other animals and plants. The lake is home to various birds such as

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

(swans, geese, ducks), Mongolian gull, pelicans, and others. The lake has fish, including Mongolian grayling (''

Thymallus ''Thymallus'', commonly known as graylings, is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fish and the only genus within the subfamily Thymallinae of the family Salmonidae. Although all ''Thymallus'' species can be generically called graylings, withou ...

brevirostris'') and Altai

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

References

Important Bird Areas of Mongolia Endorheic lakes of Asia Lakes of Uvs Province Saline lakes of Asia Sagil, Uvs {{Mongolia-lake-stub