Khyargas Lake

Where is Khyargas Lake?

Countries on its shores: Mongolia.

Middle of the lake: 49.20° N, 93.40° E

The story behind it

Khyargas Lake lies in a wide basin in Uvs Province, in the north-west of Mongolia. No river flows out of it, and its water is salty. Its area is about 1 400 km², but sources give different sizes, from about 1 360 to about 1 480 km². The lake is up to about 80 metres deep. From November to April its surface is frozen. Just south of it lies the much smaller Airag Lake, which has fresh water. Airag flows into Khyargas through a channel about 5 km long that does not freeze, even in winter. Despite the salt, Khyargas is rich in fish, among them a kind of carp fish. Since 2000 both lakes have been protected in a national park, Khyargas Lake National Park, which covers about 3 300 km². Around the shores, the desert is broken here and there by patches of meadow.

Find it on the globe

Khyargas 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.