Hangai Mountains
The Hangai (Khangai, Hangayn) Mountains dominate central Mongolia with their rich pastures and forests. The range extends 800 kilometers northwest-southeast and parallels the Mongolian Altai Mountains. Several of the range's snowy peaks reach an altitude of 3,500 meters above sea level, and the highest of these peaks, snow-capped Otgon Tenger (3,905 meters above sea level), remains a central and sacred place in Mongolian folklore. Medicinal herbs and minerals gathered from its slopes are a popular commodity in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia's capital.
The Hangai Mountains drain into the Arctic basin via the Orhon, Ider, and Selenge rivers, the last being the main tributary of Lake Baikal in Siberia. On the range's southern slopes, the dry beds of occasional watercourses feed into the Valley of Lakes, an arid plateau interspersed with freshwater and saline lakes. The Hangai Range's northern slopes are covered with forest and mountain meadows, while the southern slopes are generally treeless and arid. Frequent earthquakes in the region (the most recent in 1905) have left dramatic fissures referred to as the "trails of a giant snake." In this environment, musk deer, willow grouse, lynx, snow leopard, brown bear, wild boar, golden eagle, and the central Asian viper make their home.
Further Reading
Mongolian People's Republic Academy of Sciences. (1990) Information Mongolia. Oxford: Pergamon.
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