River · Mongolia
Orkhon
Orkhon is the longest river of Mongolia, a wide country of grass and mountains in eastern Asia. It rises in the Khangai Mountains and winds north across open steppe. Near Sukhbaatar it joins the Selenge river.
Picture credit: He-ba-mue (CC BY-SA 2.5) · Chongkian (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Orkhon?
The river starts here: Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia.
It ends in the the Selenge river near Sukhbaatar.
Countries on the river: Mongolia.
The story behind it
The valley of the Orkhon is one of the most famous places in Mongolia. Near the source the water leaps over a rock step and falls into a black gorge of old lava, a waterfall that visitors ride out to on horseback. Further down the river swings through soft green grassland where herders move with sheep, goats, horses and yaks, and where round white tents called gers stand for a few weeks before moving on. Rulers built their capital, Karakorum, beside this river long ago; today a walled monastery marks the spot. Huge taimen, the biggest salmon-like fish in the world, hunt in the deep bends, and cranes step through the marshy meadows. In winter the surface turns to thick ice and people cross it with carts.
Questions children ask
How long is the Orkhon?
The Orkhon is 1 124 kilometres long. Its whole course lies in Mongolia, which makes it the longest river of that country. It is even longer than the Selenge river it flows into.
Which country does the Orkhon flow through?
The Orkhon flows through Mongolia alone. It travels from the Khangai Mountains in the centre of the country towards the northern border. On the way it passes wide steppe, pastures and a few small towns.
Where does the Orkhon end?
The Orkhon does not reach a sea. It flows into the Selenge river near the town of Sukhbaatar in the north. That water carries on into Lake Baikal, far away in Siberia.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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