Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур), also called Khövsgöl Sea (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл далай), is located in Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia. It is the largest freshwater lake in the country by volume and the second largest by area after Uvs Lake. The lake is nicknamed "Mother Sea" (Mongolian: Далай ээж, Dalai eej) in Mongolian.
Geography
Lake Khuvsgul is located in the northwest of Mongolia, near the Russian border, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 meters (5,397 feet) above sea level, 136 kilometers (85 miles) long, and 262 meters (860 feet) deep. It is the second-largest freshwater lake in Asia by volume, holding nearly 70% of Mongolia’s fresh water and 0.4% of the world’s fresh water. The town of Hatgal is located at the southern end of the lake.
The area that drains water into Lake Khuvsgul is small, and the lake has only a few small rivers flowing into it. The lake is drained at its southern end by the Egiin Gol River, which connects to the Selenge River and eventually flows into Lake Baikal. Between the two lakes, the water travels more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) and drops 1,169 meters (3,835 feet), though the straight-line distance between them is about 200 kilometers (124 miles). The lake’s location in northern Mongolia is part of the southern edge of the large Siberian taiga forest, where the most common tree is the Siberian larch (Larix sibirica).
Lake Khuvsgul is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain nearby is Bürenkhaan/Mönkh Saridag (3,492 meters (11,457 feet)), whose peak lies on the border with Russia, north of the lake. The lake freezes completely in winter, and the ice is thick enough to support heavy trucks. In the past, vehicles traveled across the ice to avoid longer roads, but this practice is now banned to protect the lake from pollution caused by oil leaks or vehicles breaking through the ice. It is estimated that 30 to 40 vehicles have broken through the ice into the lake over the years.
There is an oval-shaped island in the center of the lake called Wooden Boy Island. It is 3 kilometers wide from east to west and 2 kilometers wide from north to south. The island is about 11 kilometers from the lake’s eastern shore and 50 kilometers north of the town of Hatgal.
Ecological significance
Khuvsgul is one of seventeen ancient lakes in the world, more than 2 million years old. It is the most untouched lake (except for Lake Vostok) and holds the largest supply of drinking water in Mongolia. The lake’s water is safe to drink without any treatment. Khuvsgul is an ultra oligotrophic lake, meaning it has very low levels of nutrients, low plant growth, and very clear water. Common measurements of water clarity (called Secchi depths) are more than 18 meters.
The lake’s area is a National Park larger than Yellowstone. It is protected as a place where two ecosystems meet: the Central Asian Steppe and the Siberian Taiga. Even though the lake is protected, illegal fishing is common, and rules against using certain fishing nets are not always followed. The lake is considered sacred in a region where most lakes are salty due to dry conditions.
The Hövsgöl (Khövsgöl) Long-term Ecological Research Site (LTERS) was created in 1997. A large research program started soon after. Now part of a global network of research sites, the LTERS helps develop Mongolia’s scientific and environmental programs, studies climate change, and finds ways to address environmental challenges near the lake and its surrounding area.
Recent studies found high levels of plastic pollution, especially tiny plastic pieces called microplastics. This shows that even small rural communities can create pollution levels similar to those in other parts of the world.
The park is home to many animals, including ibex, argali, elk, wolf, wolverine, musk deer, brown bear, Siberian moose, and sable. It is also recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International.
Khuvsgul has fewer types of fish compared to Lake Baikal. Fish of interest include Eurasian perch, burbot, lenok, and the endangered Hovsgol grayling. Though threatened by poaching during breeding seasons, the Hovsgol grayling is still found in large numbers across much of the lake.
Etymology and transliterations
The name Khövsgöl comes from Turkic words meaning "Khob Su Kol," which translates to "Lake with Great Water." The word "Göl" in Turkic languages means "lake" and is now used in Mongolian to mean "river." The name can be written in different ways depending on how certain letters are translated. For example, the Cyrillic letter "х" may be written as "h" or "kh," and the letter "ө" may be written as "ö," "o," or "u." Older writings in the classical Mongolian script, such as Hubsugul or Khubsugul, are also used to spell the name.