Umnugovi Aimag (Province)
Umnugovi is the biggest aimag in the country according to its area. It is bordered with Dundgovi, Dornogovi, Bayankhongor, Uvurkhangai aimags and to the south for 700km borders with the provinces of Bayannuur and Alshaa of Inner Mongolia, the People's Republic of China. The area is considered as a part of the Gobi (Govi) desert and elevated at the average of 1,300 to 1,600m above the sea level. The continue of the Altai mountain range, 3,000m elevated mountains like Govi Gurvan Saikhan, Sevrei, Noyon Bogd, Nomgon, Tost, Nemegt, Altan Uul, Gilbent, 800m elevated and 150km long Khongor sand dune and couple dozen km vast Gobis like Galba, Borzon, Zeemeg, and Zag Sujiin are all lie in the territory of the aimag. The area is rich with mineral recourses like lead, copper, coal, iron ore, marble, feldspar and crystal. The Tavan Tolgoi coal mine is located in 100km east from the center of the aimag Dalanzadgad, in 18km southwest from the Tsogttsetsii sum center and in 540 km from Ulaanbaatar.
Tavan Tolgoi deposit contains 6.4 billion ton of high quality coal with 7,760 to 8,120 kcal in value.
The Oyu Tolgoi, copper and gold mine, is located in Khanbogd sum territory, 45km south from the center of the sum, 240km west from the center of Umnugovi aimag, Dalanzadgad and 600km from Ulaanbaatar. Discovered copper deposit is 26 million tons and gold deposit is 1,000 tons as of 2006. Oyu Tolgoi deposit contains 2.31 billion tons of ore with 1.16% copper concentrate and 0.35 g/ton gold concentrate.
The area is rich with tasteful edible plants like wild leek, Mongolian onion, feather grass, couch, straw and bushes like salsola, anabisis, sagebrush, caragana and ceratoides. Saxaul, pine and xanthoxylon etc. are scattered throughout the desert. An isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or similar water source is called an oasis. In oasis populus, tamarix, oleaster, willow and reaumuria etc. bushes are predominant. Reed, leymus chinensis, straw, halimodendron, sophora, peganum, calamagrostis macilenta, silverweed also grow in these oases. Plants and vegetations that local people use in their lives are cynomorium, nitraria and a Mongolian onion. World and nation widely endangered species like Argali the wild sheep, ibex, leopard, black tailed antelope, Mazaalai the Gobi bear, marbled polecat, wildcat, lynx, rock marten, gopher, antelope etc. are inhabited in here..
Yolyn Am: Yolyn Am is the scenic gorge of the Govi Gurvan Saikhan Mountain and the name was given due to its large number of Yol or lammergeyer population. It is a beautiful place with clear air, cold streams and surrounded with distinctive rock formations. Ice and snow in the bottom of the gorge remains frozen until the end of the July. Juniper grows here. Early in the morning or late in the evening people can spot rare animals like wild goats and lammergeyer in this gorge. Yolyn Am is located in 45km northwest of Dalanzadgad.
