Total catchments area is 71,100 sq.km. (J. Tserensodnom, 2000). The lake is surrounded by
desert steppe landscape. Lake Basin is surr
ounded by the Mongolian
Altai in the west, the
Tagna Mountain in
the north, the Khangai
Mountain range in the
east and the Khan-Khukhii
Mountain in the south.
The lake has no outlets an
d main tributary rivers
are Tes, Nariin and
Kharkhiraa, which originates from the Khangai and Kharkhiraa-Tyrgen Mountains. The rivers
form a vast area of marsh in the northeast and we
st of the lake. The lake is located in a basin
with large areas of sand dunes at the northern
most limit of the Gobi region (semi-arid zone).
The valley of the Tes and Naryn rivers north of the Lake is salty and humid. The soil base is
saline, and the next layer is sa
lty brown soil. Some brown soil ha
s spread over the area of the
rivers that flow from the Kahrkhiraa, Turgen
and Tagnyn mountains. Climate is extreme
continental, coldest in January reaching above -40
o
C, and hot summer with maximums
reaching up to 40
o
C. This area is known as coldest place in Mongolia