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The 'Bayan-Ölgii aimag' (, ) (Alternately spelled Olgiy, Ulgii, etc. . .) is one of the 21 Aimags (provinces) of Mongolia. The Bayan-Ölgii aimag was established in 1940. Its capital is Ölgii.

Contents

Geography

Population

Culture

Traffic

National parks

Administrative Subdivision

References

External links

Geography

The aimag is located in the extreme west of the country, and shares borders with both Russia and China. The border between the two neighbour countries is very short here, though, and ends after about 40 km at the eastern end of Kazakhstan. Within Mongolia, the neighbour aimags are Uvs in the north east and Khovd in the south east..
Bayan-Ölgii is the highest Mongolian aimag. For the most part it is located in the Mongolian Altay, at the transition point to the Russian Altay. About 10% of the territory are covered by forests, consisting primarily of Siberian Larch.
The Nairamdal Peak ("frendship peak") of the ''Tavan Bogd'' massiv ("five saints") marks the corner between the three neighbour countries. The other peaks of the massiv are named ''Khüiten'', ''Naran'', ''Ölgii'', and ''Burged''. With 4374 m the Khuiten is the highest point of Mongolia. The massiv includes several glaciers, such as the 19 km long ''Potanii'', and is only accessible to experienced climbers with local guidance.
The River Khovd (the longest in inland basin of Great Lakes) has its origin in this aimag. It is fed by the three lakes ''Khoton'', ''Khurgan'', and ''Dayan'', and in turn feeds the lake Khar-Us Nuur in the Khovd Aimag. The Tolbo Nuur ("frog lake") is a large saline lake about 50 km south of the aimag capital. It features clear and cold water on an elevation of 2080 m.

Population

Most inhabitants of Bayan-Ölgii are Kazakhs(88.7%). Smaller parts of the population are composed of Uriankhai (7.2%), Dorvod (1.5%)^[1], Khalkha, Tuva and Khoshuud. A significant portion of the population speaks the Kazakh as their mother tongue and the Mongolian language only as a second language, if at all.
After democratization, many inhabitants moved to their historical homeland, Kazakhstan, assuming to find a better future there. The result was a noticeable reduction of the population numbers in 1991-1993, when approx. 30,000 repatriated. As it turned out though, Kazakhstan suffered much more under the consequences of the former socialist rule than Mongolia did, so that most of those hopes were disappointed. A noticeable number of former immigrants have been returning, so that the population numbers rose again noticeably.

Bayan-Ölgii aimag population ^{[2] [3] [4][5]}

1963 census	1969 census	1975 est.	1979 census	1981 est.	1989 census	1991 est.	1993 est.	1995 est.	1998 est.	2000 census	2002 est.	2004 est.	2005 est.
47,800	58,100	66,600	71,400	74,500	90,900	102,817	75,043	82,259	87,341	94,094	98,066	99,112	95,758

Culture

The culture of the Kazakh majority is strongly influenced by Islamic traditions.
The mosque of Ölgii also houses the Islamic Center of Mongolia. It is placed at an unusual angle within the fabric of the city, because the building was oriented exactly towards Mecca. There's also a ''Madrasah'' (Islamic school) at the same place.
The aimag is famous for the traditional hunting method using trained eagles. The animals work in a similar way as hunting falcons do in other places.

Traffic

The Ölgii Airport (ULG/ZMUL) has one unpaved runway. It offers regular flights to Ulan Bator and irregular flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan.
A road connecting to Russia starts in Tsagaannuur.
The border with China is open only for a short amount of time in the summer.

National parks

The ''Tavan Bogd National Park'' has a size of more than 6,000 square kilometres and is located south of the highest mountain of Mongolia. It includes the lakes ''Khoton'', ''Khurgan'', and ''Daryan''. The protected area offers a home for many species of alpine animals, such as the Argali sheep, Ibex, Red deer, Beech marten, Moose, Snow cock, and Golden eagle.
The ''Khokh Serkh Protected Area'' and the ''Siilkhem Nuruu National Park'' are of similar characteristics, even if they are much smaller.
The ''Develiin Aral Natural Reserve'' is established around the ''Develiin Island'' at the confluence of the Rivers ''Lsan Khooloi'' and ''Khovd''. Since 2000 it protects various water loving animals such as pheasants, boars, and beavers.
The ''Tsambagarav Lul National Park'' includes more than 1,000 square kilometres of land around the glaciers near the Khovd aimag and protects the snow leopards living there, among others.

Administrative Subdivision

The Sums of Bayan-Ölgii aimag^[6]

Sum	Mongolian	Sum population (2005)	Sum centre population (2005)
Altai	Алтай	3,914	977
Altantsögts	Алтанцөгц	3,038	1,302
Bayannuur	Баяннуур	5,320	2,005
Bugat	Бугат	3,604	1,109
Bulgan	Булган	5,901	1,298
Buyant	Буянт	3,002	722
Delüün	Дэлүүн	8,183	1,507
Nogoonnuur	Ногооннуур	6,539	2,160
Ölgii (city)	Өлгий	28,248	27,568 ★
Sagsai	Сагсай	5,185	1,235
Tolbo	Толбо	4,260	986
Tsagaannuur	Цагааннуур	1,528	1,270
Tsengel	Цэнгэл	8,364	1,597
Ulaankhus	Улаанхус	8,672	1,304

^★ - The aimag capital Ölgii (city)

References

1. Official site of the Bayan-Ölgii aimag[1]
2. , Statistics office of Bayan-Ölgii aimag, [2]
3. National Statistical Office[3]
4. National Economy of the Mongolian People's Republic (1921 - 1981), Ulaanbaatar 1981
5. , GeoHive: Global Statistics, [4]
6.

External links

★ Bayan Ölgii Image Gallery