Khövsgöl ( mn, Хөвсгөл) is the northernmost of the 21 aimags (provinces) of

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. The name is derived from Lake Khövsgöl.

Geography and history

The round-topped Tarvagatai, Bulnain and Erchim sub-ranges of the Khangai massif dominate the south and southwest of the largely mountainous province, and north and west of Lake Khövsgöl, lie the alpine Khoridol Saridag,

Ulaan Taiga Ulaan ( mn, Улаан, ''red'', zh, 乌兰) may refer to: * Wulan County Ulan or Wulan ( Mongolian: ; ; ) is a county of Qinghai Province, China. It is under the administration of Haixi Mongol and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Haixi Mongolia ...

, and Mönkh Saridag 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 (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruc ...

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

Mörön Mörön ( mn, Мөрөн;, lit=river), also spelled Murun, is the administrative center of Khövsgöl Aimag (province) in northern Mongolia. Before 1933, Khatgal had been the aimag capital. It has 12,286 families and a population of 46,918, an ...

Population

The region is home to many ethnic minority groups:

Darkhad The Darkhad, Darqads,. Dalhut, or Darhut ( Mongolian for "Untouchables", "Protected Ones", or "Workmen of Darkhan"; Chinese: 达尔扈特, pinyin: Dá'ěrhùtè) are a subgroup of Mongol people living mainly in northern Mongolia, in the Bayanz� ...

, Khotgoid,

Uriankhai Uriankhai ( traditional Mongolian: , Mongolian Cyrillic: урианхай; sah, урааҥхай; zh, t=烏梁海, s=乌梁海, p=Wūliánghǎi), Uriankhan (, урианхан) or Uriankhat (, урианхад), is a term of address appli ...

, Buriad, and Tsaatan. Both the Darkhad and Tsaatan are famous for their practice of shamanism.

Famous Khövsgölians

Famous people from Khuvsgul include: *

Chingünjav Chingunjavi ( mn, Чингүн, ; also known as ''Admiral Chingün'', mn, Чингүн, 1710–1757) was the Khalkha prince ruler of the Khotogoids and one of the two major leaders of the 1756-57 rebellion in Outer Mongolia. Although his rebellio ...

, leader of an anti- Manchu rebellion in 1756/57, *

Öndör Gongor Öndör Gongor ( mn, Өндөр Гонгор, "Tall Gongor", c. 1880/85 – late 1920s), whose full name was Pureviin Gongor ( mn, Пүрэвийн Гонгор), was a man in early-20th century Mongolia, who suffered from gigantism. He was measur ...

, was a very tall man in early-20th century Mongolia, * Jalkhanz Khutagt Damdinbazar, a prime minister of Mongolia in the early 1920s, *

Gelenkhüü Gelenkhüü ( mn, Гэлэнхүү, c. 1877–1938), full name Khainzangiin Gelenkhüü (''Хайнзангийн Гэлэнхүү''), also known as Gelenkhüü Shükherch (''Гэлэнхүү Шүхэрч'' - Parachute-Gelenkhüü), is a sem ...

, an inventor and hero of local folklore. *

Oyungerel Tsedevdamba Oyungerel Tsedevdamba (; born 26 October 1966 in the Tarialan district of the Mongolian People's Republic) is policy advisor for human rights and public participation to the President of Mongolia, Khaltmaagiin Battulga. Oyungerel is a member of t ...

, activist, first Mongolian to graduate from Stanford

Henning Haslund-Christensen Henning Haslund-Christensen (31 August 1896 – 13 September 1948) was a Danish travel writer and anthropologist. Life He was born in Copenhagen on 31 August 1896, and graduated from thØstersøgades Gymnasiumin Copenhagen. He enrolled at the ...

, 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, a female ancestor of Genghis Khan, hails from what is now Chandmani-Öndör.

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 domesticated species of goat-antelope typically 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 a ...

s, 1,442,000

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals 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 domesticated ...

, 322,000

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

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 million yea ...

s, 2,350

camels A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. ...

, and 652

reindeer Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 sub ...

Transportation

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

Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...

, 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

to Ulaanbaatar is 690 km. A new paved road finished in fall 2012 now connects Mörön to Khatgal on Lake Khövsgöl.

Administrative subdivisions

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