Zavkhan Province | |
|---|---|
 Khar Lake from theInternational Space Station, 2006 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
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| Coordinates:48°0′N96°15′E / 48.000°N 96.250°E /48.000; 96.250 | |
| Country | Mongolia |
| Established | 1931 (1931) |
| Capital | Uliastai |
| Area | |
• Total | 82,455.66 km2 (31,836.31 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,886 m (6,188 ft) |
| Population (2017) | |
• Total | 72,104 |
| • Density | 0.87446/km2 (2.2648/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | MNT 652 billion US$ 0.2 billion (2022) |
| • Per capita | MNT 8,856,280 US$ 2,836 (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC+7 |
| Area code | +976 (0)146 |
| ISO 3166 code | MN-057 |
| Vehicle registration | ЗА_ |
| Website | www |
Zavkhan (/ˈzaʊxɑːn/;Mongolian:Завханᠵᠠᠪᠬᠠᠨ[ˈt͡saw̜χəɴ]), also speltZaukhan orZabhkhan, is one of the 21aimags (provinces) ofMongolia, located in the west of the country, 1,104 km fromUlaanbaatar. Its capital isUliastai. The aimag is named after theZavkhan River, which forms the border between Zavkhan andGobi-Altai aimag.
Locally, Zavkhan's environment is considered "Gobi-Khangai" (Говь хангай), since it connects theGobi Desert in the south with the westernKhangai Mountain Range and thebroad lake basin ofKhovd aimag.
The highest peak in the province isOtgontenger (Отгонтэнгэр, lit. "youngest sky") both the highest (4,031 m) and only peak in the Khangai range capped with a permanent glacier. The mountain is located in the 95,510 hectare Otgon Tenger Strictly Protected Area, about 60 km east ofUliastai. An image of the mountain can be seen on the aimag's coat of arms. Otgontenger is associated with the BodhisattvaOchirvaani (Очирваань).
The western and south-western regions of Zavkhan contain the massive Bor Khyarin Els sand dunes that stretch for over 100 km within the Zavkhan, down intoGobi-Altai aimag. One of the largest lakes in Zavkhan, Bayan Nuur (баян нуур, "rich lake") is nestled among the dunes.
Zavkhan has some of the coldest winter temperatures in Mongolia. It has even been known to snow in summer. InTosontsengel, the largestsum in Zavkhan, winter temperatures as low as −52.9 °C (−63.2 °F) have been recorded. Thatsum also holds the record for the highestmean sea level barometric pressure ever recorded on Earth 1,085.7 hectopascals or 32.061 inches of mercury, measured on 19 December 2001.[2]
Most precipitation falls in the summer months as rain, with some snow in the adjacent months of May and September. Winters are typically very dry.
Aside from having massive livestock populations, Zavkhan's broad ecological regions and deep forests are home to a diverse population of wildlife:Gobi bears,Mongolian khulans,wild boars,spotted deers,argali,wild goats,ibexes,Mongolian wolves,Corsac foxes,marmots,mongooses,Eurasian lynxes,hares, and bothMongolian andgoitered gazelle.
Many forest, mountain and migratory birds can be found in the aimag, including raresnowcocks andbobwhites, as well asswans,vultures,falcons andhawks.
Fishing is a popular pastime in Zavkhan.Khar Nuur and Bayan Nuur lakes are rich with fish, and many of the hundreds of smaller rivers throughout the province provide decent fishing.
Population growth in Zavkhan aimag stopped in 1994, then migration out of the aimag (approx. 40,000 in 1995-2005) reduced its population to the end of 1979 level. The majority of the population is ethnicKhalkha but there are sizableKhotgoid andKazakh minorities.
| 1956 census | 1960 est. | 1963 census | 1969 census | 1975 est. | 1979 census | 1981 est. | 1989 census | 1990 est. | 1992 est. | 1994 est. | 1996 est. | 1998 est. | 2000 census | 2002 est. | 2005 est. | 2008 est. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55,100 | 61,000 | 60,000 | 70,800 | 76,000 | 79,800 | 81,700 | 88,500 | 91,960 | 102,834 | 103,150 | 102,341 | 100,905 | 87,686 | 83,516 | 78,668 | 76,614 |
Herders breed each of the "5 Kinds" (5-н хошуу мал)of animal in Zavkhan. In 2005, the aimag was home to 2,1 million head of livestock, among them 1,03 millionsheep, 861,000goats, 107,000cattle andyaks, 101,000horses, and 6,300camels.[6]
The area is also rich with mineral resources such as iron ore, tin, gold, copper, diamonds,molybdenum ore, andphosphorite. While Zavkhan's mineral wealth remains largely been unexploited, in 2012 the Golden Hill Project mine was built by Bayan Airag Exploration LLC outside of Durvuljin soum.[7]
In 2018, the province contributed to 1.08% of the total national GDP of Mongolia.[8]
The oldUliastai Airport has two unpaved runways and is located close to the city, but it has no regular flights operating. Since 2002, theDonoi Airport (or "New Uliastai Airport") with one unpaved runway is located about 25 km west of the city and gets served by regular flights to and fromUlaanbaatar.
| Sum | Mongolian | Population[9](2005) |
|---|---|---|
| Aldarkhaan | Алдархаан | 3,708 |
| Asgat | Асгат | 1,125 |
| Bayankhairhan | Баянхайрхан | 1,968 |
| Bayantes | Баянтэс | 3,024 |
| Dörvöljin | Дөрвөлжин | 2,323 |
| Erdenekhairkhan | Эрдэнэхайрхан | 1,771 |
| Ider | Идэр | 2,714 |
| Ikh-Uul | Их-Уул | 6,271 |
| Nömrög | Нөмрөг | 1,848 |
| Otgon | Отгон | 3,478 |
| Santmargats | Сантмаргац | 2,101 |
| Shilüüstei | Шилүүстэй | 2,450 |
| Songino | Сонгино | 1,921 |
| Telmen | Тэлмэн | 2,820 |
| Tes | Тэс | 3,230 |
| Tosontsengel | Тосонцэнгэл | 9,045 |
| Tsagaanchuluut | Цагаанчулуут | 1,496 |
| Tsagaankhairkhan | Цагаанхайрхан | 1,823 |
| Tsetsen-Uul | Цэцэн-Уул | 2,114 |
| Tüdevtei | Түдэвтэй | 2,003 |
| Uliastai * | Улиастай | 15,742 |
| Urgamal | Ургамал | 1,822 |
| Yaruu | Яруу | 2,547 |
| Zavkhanmandal | Завханмандал | 1,324 |
Places adjacent to Zavkhan Province | ||||||||||||||||
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| Aimags (provinces) |  | |
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