Natural Heritage · Natural site
Uvs Lake
Mongolia's largest lake by area, a shallow salt lake at the heart of a basin shared with Russia and listed by UNESCO.
- Location
- Uvs aimag
- Type
- Natural site
- Key Fact
- Mongolia's largest lake by area
- UNESCO
- Uvs Nuur Basin (UNESCO World Heritage, 2003)
About the Site
Uvs Lake covers 3,350 km² at 759 metres above sea level, making it the largest lake in Mongolia by surface area. It is shallow and saline, about half as salty as the sea.
In 2003 UNESCO listed the Uvs Nuur Basin as a World Heritage Site, shared between Mongolia and the Republic of Tuva in Russia, with twelve component areas. The basin brings together cold desert, desert steppe, steppe, forests, wetlands, sand dunes and tundra, with peaks near 4,000 metres. 173 bird species live in the surrounding depression.
What to See
- The open shores of Mongolia's largest lake
- Birdlife of the Uvs depression
- The sweep of landscapes from dunes to mountains across the basin
Visiting
- Ulaangom, the centre of Uvs aimag, is the largest town near the lake, about 26 km from the shore; it has an airport, opened in 2011.
- Summer is the practical season; in Ulaangom winter temperatures can fall to −45 °C or lower.