Bayan-Ölgii ( mn, Баян-Өлгий, ; xal, Байн-Өлгий, ; kk, Бай-Өлке / Bai-Ölke, ; "Rich region") is the westernmost 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 country's only

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and Kazakh-majority aimag, it was established in August 1940. Its capital is Ölgii.

Geography

The aimag is located in the extreme west of the country, and shares borders with both

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The border between the two neighbouring countries is very short here, though, and ends after about 40 km at the eastern end of

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. Within Mongolia, the neighbouring aimags are Uvs in the north east and Khovd in the south east. Mongolia Lago Buzau

Bayan-Ölgii is the highest Mongolian aimag. For the most part it is located in the Mongolian Altay, at the transition point to the Russian Altay. About 10% of the territory is covered by forests, consisting primarily of

Siberian Larch ''Larix sibirica'', the Siberian larch or Russian larch, is a frost-hardy tree native to western Russia, from close to the Finnish border east to the Yenisei valley in central Siberia, where it hybridises with the Dahurian larch ''L. gmelinii' ...

. The

Nairamdal Peak Nairamdal Peak or Friendship Peak ( mn, Найрамдал оргил, Nairamdal orgil; ) is the one of five peaks of the Tavan Bogd mountain and it marks the border tripoint between Russia, Mongolia, and China. The Peak towers at the elevation ...

(also ''Friendship Peak'', Chinese: ''Youyi Feng'') of the Altai Tavan Bogd (''five saints mountain'') massif mountain marks the corner between the three neighbouring countries. About 2.5 km further south on the Mongolian-Chinese border, the

Khüiten Peak Khüiten Peak ( mn, Хүйтэн оргил, Hüiten orgil, ; "cold peak"), also known in China as Friendship Peak (), is the highest peak with 4,356 m above sea level and a permanent snow cap in the Altai Range, the international border ...

is the highest point of Mongolia at a height of 4,374 m. The massif includes several glaciers, such as the 19 km

Potanin Glacier The Potanin Glacier is the longest glacier in Mongolia, it stretches about 14 kilometres and located through in the Altai Tavan Bogd mountain in Altai Mountains. The glacier is named after explorer Grigory Potanin Grigory Nikolayevich Potan ...

, and is only accessible to experienced climbers with local guidance. The

Khovd River Khovd River ( mn, Ховд гол, Howd gol, ) is a river in Mongolia. It flows from Tavan Bogd mountain of the Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia ...

(the longest in the western Mongolian

Great Lakes Depression The Great Lakes Depression ( mn, Их нууруудын хотгор, ''Ikh Nuuruudyn Khotgor''), also called the Great Lakes' Hollow, is a large semi-arid depression in Mongolia that covers parts of the Uvs, Khovd, Bayan-Ölgii, Zavkhan and ...

) has its origin in this aimag. It is fed by the three lakes ''Khoton'', ''Khurgan'', and ''Dayan'', and in turn feeds the lake Khar-Us in the Khovd Aimag. The Tolbo Lake is a large saline lake about 50 km south of the aimag capital. It features clear and cold water on an elevation of 2,080 m.

Population

Most inhabitants of Bayan-Ölgii are

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also part ...

(93%). The rest of the population is composed of

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 ...

, Dörvöd,

Khalkha The Khalkha ( Mongolian: mn, Халх, Halh, , zh, 喀爾喀) have been the largest subgroup of Mongol people in modern Mongolia since the 15th century. The Khalkha, together with Chahars, Ordos and Tumed, were directly ruled by Borjigin k ...

, Tsengel

Tuvans The Tuvans ( tyv, Тывалар, Tıvalar) are a TurkicOtto Maenchen-Helfen, Journey to Tuva, p. 169 ethnic group indigenous to Siberia who live in Russia ( Tuva), Mongolia, and China. They speak Tuvan, a Siberian Turkic language. They are a ...

, and

Khoshuud The Khoshut ( Mongolian: Хошууд,, qoşūd, ; literally "bannermen," from Middle Mongolian ''qosighu'' "flag, banner") are one of the four major tribes of the Oirat people. Originally, Khoshuuds were one of the Khorchin tribes in southeaste ...

. A significant portion of the population speaks Kazakh as their mother tongue and the

Mongolian language Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia and both the most widely spoken and best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residen ...

only as a second language, if at all. After democratization, many inhabitants moved to their historical homeland,

, assuming they would find a better future there. The result was a noticeable loss of population in 1991-1993, when approx. 80 thousands were repatriated to Kazakhstan. A noticeable number of former immigrants have been returning, so that the population has risen again.

Culture

The culture of the Kazakh majority is strongly influenced by Islamic traditions. The mosque of Ölgii also houses the Islamic Center of Mongolia. It is placed at an unusual angle within the fabric of the city, because the building was oriented exactly towards

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow v ...

. There is also a ''

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

'' (Islamic school) at the same place. The aimag is famous for the traditional practice of hunting with trained eagles. The captive eagles work in a similar way as hunting falcons do. While eagles are used for hunting in other parts of the world, particularly

and

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...

, the practice is most common in Bayan-Ölgii, where an estimated 80 percent of the world's eagle hunters live. The annual

Golden Eagle Festival The Golden Eagle Festival, or simply Eagle Festival ( mn, Бүргэдийн наадам / Bürgediin naadam, ; kk, Бүркіт той / Bürkıt toi, ), is an annual traditional festival held in Bayan-Ölgii aimag, Mongolia. In the eagle fes ...

is held in Ölgii every October to display the skill of eagle hunters, with about 70 hunters participating per year.Soma, Takuya & Battulga, Sukhee. 2014. 'Altai Kazakh Falconry as Heritage Tourism: “The Golden Eagle Festival” of Western Mongolia', "The International Journal of Intangible Heritage vol. 9", edited by Alissandra Cummins, pp. 135-148. Seoul: The National Folk Museum of Korea

/ref>

Traffic

The Ölgii Airport (ULG/ZMUL) has one runway, unpaved until 2011. It offers regular flights 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 irregular flights to Ulaangom and Mörön in Mongolia and

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of ...

. A road connecting to Russia starts in Tsagaannuur. The border with China is open only for a short time in the summer.

National parks

The ''

Altai Tavan Bogd National Park Altai Tavan Bogd National Park (, ''Altai five saints nature complex'') is a national park in Bayan-Ölgii Province of western Mongolia. The park includes the Mongolian side of the Tavan Bogd massif, which is divided by the triple border with Rus ...

'' covers 6,362 km² and is located south of the highest mountain of Mongolia. It includes the lakes ''Khoton'', ''Khurgan'', and ''Dayan''. The protected area offers a home for many species of alpine animal, such as the

Argali The argali (''Ovis ammon''), also known as the mountain sheep, is a wild sheep that roams the highlands of western East Asia, the Himalayas, Tibet, and the Altai Mountains. Description The name 'argali' is the Mongolian word for wild sheep. It ...

sheep,

Ibex An ibex (plural ibex, ibexes or ibices) is any of several species of wild goat (genus ''Capra''), distinguished by the male's large recurved horns, which are transversely ridged in front. Ibex are found in Eurasia, North Africa and East Africa ...

Red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of ...

Beech marten The beech marten (''Martes foina''), also known as the stone marten, house marten or white breasted marten, is a species of marten native to much of Europe and Central Asia, though it has established a feral population in North America. It is li ...

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult ma ...

Snow cock The snowcocks or snowfowl are a group of bird species in the genus ''Tetraogallus'' of the pheasant family, Phasianidae. They are ground-nesting birds that breed in the mountain ranges of southern Eurasia from the Caucasus to the Himalayas a ...

, and

Golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

. The ''Khökh Serkhiin Nuruu Protected Area'' (659 km²) and the ''Siilkhemiin Nuruu National Park'' (1,428 km²) are of similar character. The ''Develiin Aral Natural Reserve'' (103 km²) is established around ''Develiin Island'' at the confluence of the rivers ''Lsan Khooloi'' and ''Khovd''. Since 2000 it has provided protection for various birds and animals including

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

s, and

beaver Beavers are large, semiaquatic rodents in the genus ''Castor'' native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. There are two extant species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers a ...

s. The '' Tsambagarav Uul National Park'' includes 1,115 km² of land around the glaciers near the Khovd aimag and protects the

snow leopard The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia''), also known as the ounce, is a felid in the genus '' Panthera'' native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is es ...

s living there, among others.

Administrative subdivisions

^* - Tsagaannuur including

Governors

First secretaries # Şımşırulı Noğay kk, Шымшырұлы Ноғай (1940-1942) # Düzelbayulı Jeñishan kk, Дүзелбайұлы Жеңісхан (1942) # Ş.Vançinhüü arslan mn, Ш.Ванчинхүү арслан (1943) # Mälikulı Qaşqınbay kk, Мәлікұлы Қашқынбай (1943-1952) # Muhamädïulı Qurmanhan kk, Мұхамәдиұлы Құрманхан (1952-1953) # Juwanğanulı Rım kk, Жуанғанұлы Рым (1953-1954) # Mälikulı Qaşqınbay kk, Мәлікұлы Қашқынбай (1954-1957) # Qamatjanulı Musahan kk, Қаматжанұлы Мұсахан (1958-1962) # B.Dulamragçaa mn, Б.Дуламрагчаа (1962-1966) # B.Dejid mn, Б.Дэжид (1966-1970) # Ya,Jigjid mn, Я.Жигжид (1970-1976) # L.Hürlee mn, Л.Хүрлээ (1976-1980) # Bayatazaulı Qurmetbek kk, Байтазаұлы Құрметбек (1980-199) Chairmen of executive committee # Bäjiulı Qabï kk, Бәжіұлы Қаби (1940-1942) # A.Begzjav mn, А.Бэгзжав (1942-1943) # Düzelbayulı Jeñizhan kk, Дүзелбайұлы Жеңісхан (1943-1950) # Muhamädïulı Qurmanhan kk, Мұхамәдиұлы Құрманхан (1950-1952) # Ç.Şagdar mn, Ч.Шагдар (1952-1953) # Muhamädïulı Qurmanhan kk, Мұхамәдиұлы Құрманхан (1954-1955) # Şäbiulı Qabdıl kk, Шәбіұлы Қабдыл (1955-1958) # Juwanğanulı Rım kk, Жуанғанұлы Рым (1959-1970) # Asqanbayulı Saray kk, Асқанбайұлы Сарай (1970-1978) # Qusbekulı Qızırhan kk, Құсбекұлы Қызырхан (1978-1989) # T.Davaajav mn, Т.Даваажав (1989-1990) After 1991 # Küntuwğanulı Mïzamhan kk, Күнтуғанұлы Мизамхан (1990-1996) # Qadırulı Meyram kk, Қадырұлы Мейрам (1996-2000) # Qabdısilämulı Bädelhan kk, Қабдысіләмұлы Бәделхан (2000-2004) # Omarulı Ğabsattar kk, Омарұлы Ғабсаттар (2004-2007) ( mn, Омарын Хабсатар # Säkeyulı Qabıl kk, Сәкейұлы Қабыл(2007-2012) # Quzkeyulı Därmen kk, Құзкейұлы Дәрмен (2012-2016) # Ayıpulı Ğılımhan kk, Айыпұлы Ғылымхан (2016-2020) ( mn, Айпын Гылымхан

References

External links

Bayan-Olgii Tourism WebsiteBayan-Ulgii blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayan-Olgii Province Bayan-Ölgii Province, Provinces of Mongolia States and territories established in 1940 1940 establishments in Mongolia