The Darkhad Valley ( mn, Дархадын хотгор, transl.: ''Darhadyn hotgor'') is a large

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

in northwestern Khövsgöl aimag,

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 ...

. It is situated between the Ulaan Taiga and Khoridol Saridag ranges at an altitude of about 1600 m, about 160 km long and 40 km wide. The area is 4270 km². It was transferred from the People's Republic of Tannu Tuva to the

Mongolian People's Republic The Mongolian People's Republic ( mn, Бүгд Найрамдах Монгол Ард Улс, БНМАУ; , ''BNMAU''; ) was a socialist state which existed from 1924 to 1992, located in the historical region of Outer Mongolia in East Asia. It w ...

in 1925 as a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

concession to the Mongolians, who had wanted to incorporate the territory of

Tannu Uriankhai Tannu Uriankhai ( tyv, Таңды Урянхай, ; mn, Тагна Урианхай, Tagna Urianhai, ; ) is a historical region of the Mongol Empire (and its principal successor, the Yuan dynasty) and, later, the Qing dynasty. The territory ...

into their country. The valley is rich in lakes and rivers, the biggest of which are

Dood Tsagaan Lake Dood Tsagaan Lake ( mn, Доод Цагаан нуур: ''lit. "lower white lake"'', zh, 下查干湖, 下查干淖尔) is a lake in northwestern Khövsgöl aimag, Mongolia, between the sums of Tsagaannuur and Renchinlkhümbe Renchinlkhümb ...

and Shishged River, respectively. The area is noted for its natural environment, but relatively remote and inaccessible even by Mongolian standards. The Darkhad valley is divided between the Ulaan-Uul,

Renchinlkhümbe Renchinlkhümbe ( mn, Рэнчинлхүмбэ) is a '' sum'' of Khövsgöl Province in Mongolia. The area is about , of which are pasture and 35% are forest. In 2000, the ''sum'' had 4284 inhabitants, mainly Darkhad. The ''sum'' center, offici ...

, and Tsagaannuur '' sums''. Inhabitants are mainly Darkhad (whom the valley's name derives from), and also some Tsaatan. Jeff Colhoun published a book and made a documentary film about the group Rally for Rangers working to provide park rangers with motorcycles and featured the valley in his documentary ''Darkhad Valley''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darkhadiin Khotgor Valleys of Mongolia Khövsgöl Province