Location Northern Asia, between China and Russia

Geographic coordinates 46 00 N, 105 00 E

Map references Asia

Area
total: 1.565 million sq km
land: 1.565 million sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries
total: 8,114 km
border countries: China 4,673 km, Russia 3,441 km

Coastline 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims none (landlocked)

Climate desert; continental (large daily and seasonal temperature ranges)

Terrain vast semidesert and desert plains; mountains in west and southwest; Gobi Desert in southeast

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Hoh Nuur 518 m
highest point: Tavan Bogd Uul 4,374 m

Natural resources oil, coal, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, phosphates, tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold

Land use
arable land: 1%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 80%
forests and woodland: 9%
other: 10% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land 800 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards dust storms can occur in the spring; grassland fires

Environment - current issues limited natural fresh water resources; policies of the former communist regime promoting rapid urbanization and industrial growth have raised concerns about their negative effects on the environment; the burning of soft coal and the concentration of factories in Ulaanbaatar have severely polluted the air; deforestation, overgrazing, the converting of virgin land to agricultural production have increased soil erosion from wind and rain; desertification

Environment - international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note landlocked; strategic location between China and Russia

NOTE: The information regarding Mongolia on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mongolia Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mongolia Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.