Geography
Location and Topography
With its 1.5 million square kilometers Mongolia is 37 times larger than Switzerland, or, three times the size of France. However, there are three times less people living in this country than in Switzerland with a population of 7 millions. The forests, called Taiga, extend from Siberia to deep into the heart of Mongolia. The desert Gobi reaches from China into the south, and in the west, the mountains of the Altai influence the weather of the whole country. In the east flat hills form an undulating landscape. Most parts in Mongolia lie higher than 1000 m above sea level.The Landscape
Forests covering plains and mountains, steppes, desert regions, salt lakes, they are all fascinating forms of the diverse landscape. The river Selenga, traversing the north of the country, may quickly turn into a turbulent river during the summer months. It embodies the largest water catchment area of the magnificent Lake of Bajkal, situated only 200 km north of Mongolia.The Climate
Mongolia's highly continental climate is characterised by very cold and long winters, often with little snow. Average daily temperature may easily drop below -30 C. The exceptionally hard and unusually snowy winter of 2000/2001 has been very difficult for the Mongoliens. During that winter temperatures were at times below minus 50 degrees C. The summers are short, quite warm and occasionally very wet. Spring and autumn last rarely more than 5-6 weeks.Plant and Animal Life
Alpine plants, such as gentian, edelweiss, etc., are abundant in some areas. Depending on its climatic zone (Taiga, alpine Taiga, desert steppes, high altitude mountains, etc) plant life varies considerably, and with it animal life. Have you ever met a wolf, a bear or a snow leopard in the wilderness? They and other less threatened species are all native to Mongolia.Did you know that here scientists found dinosaur eggs and skeletons, famous all over the world?