Uvs Nuur

Infobox lake
lake_name = Uvs Nuur
image_lake = Uvs-noor.jpg
caption_lake =
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location =
coords = coord|50|18|N|92|42|E|region:MN_type:waterbody|display=inline,title
type = saline
inflow = Tesiin gol and others
outflow = none
catchment =
basin_countries = Mongolia, Russia
length = 84 km
width = 79 km
area = 3,350 km²
depth = 6 m
max-depth =
volume =
residence_time =
shore =
elevation = 759 m
islands =
cities = Ulaangom

Uvs Nuur or Lake Uvs ( _mn. Увс Нуур, "Uvs Nuur" [The English usage "Uvs Nuur Lake" is a pleonasm, as the word "nuur" already means "lake" in Mongolian.] ; _ty. Успа-Холь, "Uspa-Khol"; _ru. Убсу-Нур, "Ubsu-Nur", _ru. Убса, "Ubsa") is a highly saline lake in an endorheic basin in Mongolia with a small part in Russia. It is the largest lake in Mongolia by surface area, covering 3,350 km² at 759 m above sea level. [cite web
url=http://www.medeelel.mn/index.php?page=land&sm=73&s=1366
title=Увс нуур
publisher=www.medeelel.mn
accessdate=2008-02-08] The northeastern tip of the lake is situated in the Tuva Republic of the Russian Federation. The largest settlement near the lake is Ulaangom. This shallow and very saline body of water is a remainder of a huge saline sea which covered a much larger area several thousand years ago.

Geography

Uvs Nuur has a length of 84 km and a width of 79 km, with an average depth of 6 m. Its basin is separated from the rest of the Great Lakes Depression by the Khan Khökhii ridge. However, it is not a rift lake as some mistakenly think.

The main feeding rivers are the Baruntara Gol, Nariin Gol, and Tesiin Gol from Khangai Mountains in the east, and the Kharkhiraa River and Sangil Gol from the Altai Mountains in the west.cite web
url = http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/wetlands/pdf/Mongolia.pdf
title = Mongolia
author = Jon Davies
publisher = International Water Management Institute
accessdate = 2008-02-10]

Ecology

The very large catchment area with no exit results in highly saline water (18.8 ppt, 5 times saltier than the oceans), primarily due to sulphate and sodium ions.

The lake freezes over from October to May. In summer, it exhibits a temperature gradient from 25° C at the surface to 19° C at the bottom.

29 different species of fish have been counted in Uvs Nuurcite web
url = http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/programmes/whs05/badarch.pdf
title = Uvs Nuur Basin; World Natural Heritage Site
date =
author = Erdene-Ochir Badarch
publisher = United Nations Institute for Training and Research
accessdate = 2008-02-10] , one of them (Potanini altai osman "Oreoleuciscus potanini")cite web
url = http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/show_common_name_details.php?name=Potanini+altai+osman
title = Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist
date =
author = The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)&Species 2000
publisher = The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)&Species 2000
accessdate = 2008-06-27] is suitable for human consumption.

Protected sites

All of the lake and many parts of its surroundings have been declared protected sites. The UNESCO is using the designation "Uvs Nuur site" as an umbrella term to summarize twelve separate clusters of protected sites, each a representative of a major eastern Eurasian biome. [cite web
author=
year=2003
url=http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jul2003/2003-07-08-02.asp
title=World Heritage Protection Extended to Five Natural Sites
publisher=Environmental News Service
accessdate=2008-02-10]

Uvs Nuur Basin

The Uvs Nuur Lake is the terminal basin for the Uvs Nuur Basin, which covers an area of 70,000 km² and represents one of the best-preserved natural steppe landscapes of Eurasia. The border between Mongolia and Russia runs through the northern periphery of the basin. Here the world's most northern desert meets the world's most southern tundra zone. [cite web
url=http://www.isar.org/pubs/ST/RUubsunur49.html
title=Ubsu-Nur Accepted into World Network of Biosphere Reserves
publisher=ISAR
accessdate=2006-12-31] Apart from the Uvs Nuur, the basin comprises several smaller lakes. As these lakes lie to the north of other inland seas of Central Asia, they are of key importance for waterfowl migration. Since the basin spans the geoclimatic boundary between Siberia and Central Asia, temperatures may vary from −58°C in winter to 47°C in summer. Despite its harsh climate, the depression is home to 173 bird species and 41 mammal species, including the globally endangered snow leopard, argali, and Asiatic ibex. The population density is low here. The lack of industry and the reliance of the inhabitants on traditional ways such as nomadic pasturing have little impact on the landscape and allow the ecosystem to remain relatively pristine. [cite web
url=http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/campaigns/world-natural-heritage/the-ubsunur-hollow
title=The Ubsunur Hollow
publisher=Greenpeace
accessdate=2006-12-31 ]

In 2003, the UNESCO listed the Uvs Nuur Basin as a natural World Heritage Site.cite web
url=http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/769
title=Uvs Nuur Basin
publisher=whc.unesco.org
accessdate=2007-01-16] It was nominated as "one of the largest intact watersheds in Central Asia where 40,000 archeological sites can be found from historically famous nomadic tribes such as the Scythians, the Turks and the Huns." [cite web
url=http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/envis/doc-russia-wh.html
title=Russia's First World Heritage Site
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-31 ] This transboundary patrimony is one of the largest sites inscribed in the World Heritage List to date.

References

External links

* [http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/769rev.pdf UNESCO evaluation of the property]
* [http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/asi/dsasi050.html Data summary Uvs Nuur]
* [http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/uvs_nuur.htm Protected areas of the world Uvs Nuur Basin, Russian Federation (Tuva) & Mongolia]
* [http://www.nhpfund.org/nominations/uvs_nuur.html Natural Heritage Protection Fund - The Uvs Nuur Basin]
* [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005IRH....90..580F Notes on the Cladoceran and Copepod Fauna of the Uvs Nuur Basin (Northwest Mongolia)]
* [http://www.globalnature.org/docs/02_vorlage.asp?id=20334&domid=1011&sp=E&addlastid=&m1=11089&m2=11093&m3=18849&m4=20334 Uvs Lake, Mongolia]
* [http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/campaigns/world-natural-heritage/the-ubsunur-hollow The Ubsunur Hollow State Biosphere Reserve]
* [http://www.isar.org/pubs/ST/RUubsunur49.html Ubsu-Nur Accepted into World Network of Biosphere Reserves]
* [http://www.nomadom.net/russia/tuva.htm Singing Stones - The Republic of Tuva]
* [http://130.166.124.2/world_atlas/6/files/6-1040-full.html Ubsu Nur satellite photo]
* [http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/106592481/ABSTRACT The distribution of the vegetation in the Uvs-nuur basin and its surrounding mountain ranges]
* [http://www.wetlands.org/reports/ris/2MN010en.pdf Lake Uvs and its surrounding wetlands]
* [http://www.geodata.es/mongolian_lakes Limnological Catalog of Mongolian Lakes]