Capital: Ulaanbaatar
Currency: Togrog/Tugrik (MNT)
Borders: China 4,677 km, Russia 3,485 km
Mongolia is a land-locked country in East Asia, bordered by China
and Russia. It occupies a large land area of 1,555,400 sq km and
also boasts 9,600 sq km of fresh water. Much of the landscape is
high in elevation, with the highest point Nayramadlin Orgil reaching
4,374m. The lowest area of elevation is 518m. Mongolia possesses a
wealth of valuable natural resources including oil, coal, copper,
tin, nickel, zinc, wolfram, fluorspar, gold, silver, iron and
phosphate. The terrain of Mongolia in general is represented by the
vast Gobi Desert with many grassy plains and huge pockets of
mountainous regions within the west and southwest of the country.
Nomadic herdsmen traverse the Mongolian deserts, transporting their
cattle along the way, and setting up encampments to brave the chill
of the desert night.During the 13th
century, Ghenghis Khan, the much-feared Mongolian warlord defeated a
huge Eurasian empire. After the 14th century, China began ruling
Mongolia until it gained independence with the assistance of the
Soviet Union in 1921. The capital city is Ulaanbaatar, a laid-back
city where Soviet-style high-rise is still very much evident.
Outside the capital, infrastructure is sometimes non-existent. The
currency of Mongolia is the Togrog or Tugrik and the official
language is Mongolian.
Agriculture and farming is big business in Mongolia. Animal products
and livestock make up a high percentage of the country's GDP.
Freezing Siberian winters often decimate whole herds of animals,
spelling catastrophe for local farmers. Mongolia has just 1% of
arable land and so growing crops is difficult. The mining of
valuable resources also provides a wealthy economic factor, although
these will need to be managed correctly if the country is to become
economically successful. The largest export friend of Mongolia is
China. Mongolia is an important transit point for the
trans-Mongolian express railway that traverses the country from
Russia through to China. Mongolia boasts 1815 km of railway line and
3387km of highways.
Mongolia experiences a harsh, desert climate with great extremes of
temperature and seasonal variation. The harsh, long Siberian winters
of Mongolia are world-renowned. Dust storms and droughts are
commonplace, especially in the desert. In Ulaan Baatar, the lowest
recorded temperature was -44°C. |
