Khövsgöl () is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of

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 ...

. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.

Geography and history

The round-topped Tarvagatai, Bulnain and Erchim sub-ranges of the Khangai

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

dominate the south and southwest of the largely mountainous province, and north and west of Lake Khövsgöl, lie the alpine Khoridol Saridag, Ulaan Taiga, and

Mönkh Saridag Mönkh Saridag (, ), also spelled as Munku-Sardyk (), is the highest mountain in the Sayan Mountains of Asia. It is tall and is on the Mongolia-Russia border, international border between Mongolia and Russia. It is also the highest mountain in R ...

mountains. The center and eastern parts of the province are less mountainous, but still hilly. The region is well known in Mongolia for its natural environment, and Lake Khövsgöl is one of the country's major tourist attractions. The largest forests of Mongolia are located around and to the north of the lake, extending the South Siberian

taiga Taiga or tayga ( ; , ), also known as boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, and larches. The taiga, or boreal forest, is the world's largest land biome. In North A ...

. The aimag was founded in 1931. Khatgal was the administrative center until 1933; since then it has been Mörön.

Population

The region is home to many ethnic minority groups: Darkhad, Khotgoid, Uriankhai, Buriad, and Tsaatan. Both the Darkhad and Tsaatan are famous for their practice of shamanism.

Economy

In 2018, the province contributed to 1.84% of the total national GDP of Mongolia.

Livestock

In 2007, the aimag was home to about 3.43 million heads of livestock, among them about 1,510,000

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

s, 1,442,000

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

, 322,000

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and yaks, 150,000

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

s, 2,350 camels, and 652

reindeer The reindeer or caribou (''Rangifer tarandus'') is a species of deer with circumpolar distribution, native to Arctic, subarctic, tundra, taiga, boreal, and mountainous regions of Northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. It is the only re ...

Transportation

The Mörön Airport (ZMMN/MXV) has one paved runway. It offers regular flights from and to

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Mongolia, most populous city of Mongolia. It has a population of 1.6 million, and it is the coldest capital city in the world by average yearly temperature. The municipa ...

, and also serves as intermediate stop into the western Aimags. The Khatgal Airport (HTM) only runs scheduled flights from and to Ulaanbaatar in summer, offering a more direct approach to Lake Khövsgöl for the tourists. The road distance from Mörön to Ulaanbaatar is 690 km. A new paved road finished in fall 2012 now connects Mörön to Khatgal on Lake Khövsgöl.

Administrative subdivisions

Notable natives

* Chingünjav, leader of an anti-

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

rebellion in 1756/57; * The Jalkhanz Khutagt Damdinbazar, a prime minister of Mongolia in the early 1920s; *

Öndör Gongor Öndör Gongor (, "Tall Gongor locals called him өндөр өвөө", c. 1880/85 – late 1920s), whose full name was Pureviin Gongor (), was a man in early-20th century Mongolia, who suffered from gigantism. He was measured high by Roy Chapman ...

, a tall man with the

gigantism Gigantism (, ''gígas'', "wiktionary:giant, giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average height, average. In humans, this conditi ...

condition in early-20th century Mongolia; * Gelenkhüü, an inventor and hero of local folklore; * Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, human rights advocate, first Mongolian to graduate from Stanford, first woman to join the Mongolian parliament; * Bayarjargal, conservationist and founder of Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation; Henning Haslund-Christensen, a Danish traveller and explorer, spent one or two years in a place that today is in Erdenebulgan sum in the early 1920s. Some locals believe that

Alan Gua Alan Gua (, ''Alun gua'', ''lit. "Alun the Beauty"''. ''Gua'' or ''Guva/Quwa'' means ''beauty'' in Mongolian) is a mythical figure from ''The Secret History of the Mongols'', eleven generations after the greyish white wolf and the red doe, and t ...

, an ancestor of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

, hails from what is now Chandmani-Öndör.

Gallery

Landscape of Hubsugul province.jpg, Landscape of Hubsugul province Steppe flora of the province.png, Steppe flora of the province Yurt locals.jpg, Yurt locals Nomadic cattle.jpg, Nomadic cattle

Notes and references

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Khovsgol Province Provinces of Mongolia States and territories established in 1931 1931 establishments in Mongolia