Khövsgöl Lake

Where is Khövsgöl Lake?

Countries on its shores: Mongolia.

Middle of the lake: 51.10° N, 100.50° E

The story behind it

Khövsgöl Lake lies more than 1 600 m above sea level in northern Mongolia, close to the border with Russia. It is 136 km long and up to 262 m deep. It holds more water than any other lake in Mongolia. It is also one of the world's ancient lakes: it is more than 2 million years old. Only small streams flow into it. At its southern end, near the village of Hatgal, the water leaves through the Egiin Gol river. This river joins the Selenge and finally reaches Lake Baikal in Russia, more than 1 000 km away. In winter the lake freezes over completely, and the ice becomes 1 to 1.5 m thick. Ibex, elk, wolves, brown bears and moose live in the land around the lake. In the clear water swims a rare kind of grayling, a fish that is in danger of dying out.

Find it on the globe

Khövsgöl Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.