View source for Uvs Lake

{{Short description|Lake in Uvs, Mongolia}}
{{Infobox lake
 | name = Uvs Lake
 | native_name = {{native name list |tag1=mn|name1=Увс нуур|tag2=mn|name2={{MongolUnicode|ᠤᠪᠰᠤ ᠨᠠᠭᠤᠷ}}}}
 | image = Uvs núr.JPG
 | caption = 
 | image_bathymetry = 
 | caption_bathymetry = 
|pushpin_map=Mongolia
 | location = 
 | coords = {{coord|50|18|N|92|42|E|region:MN_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}
 | type = [[salt lake|Saline]]
 | inflow = [[Tesiin gol]]、[[Kharkhiraa River]]、[[Turuun River]]
 | outflow = none
 | catchment = 
 | basin_countries = [[Mongolia]] and [[Russia]]
 | length = {{convert|84|km|mi|abbr=on}}
 | width = {{convert|79|km|mi|abbr=on}}
 | area = {{convert|3350|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
 | depth =  {{convert|6|m|ft|abbr=on}}
 | max-depth =
 | volume = 
 | residence_time = 
 | shore = 

 | elevation = {{convert|759|m|ft|abbr=on}}
 | islands = 
 | cities = [[Ulaangom]]
 | embedded = {{Designation list
 | embed = yes
 | designation1 = Ramsar
 | designation1_offname = Lake Uvs and its surrounding wetlands
 | designation1_date = 22 March 2004
 | designation1_number = 1379<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lake Uvs and its surrounding wetlands|website=[[Ramsar Convention|Ramsar]] Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/1379|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>}}
}}

'''Uvs Lake''' ({{langx|mn|Увс нуур}} {{IPA|mn|ˌʊɸs‿ˈnʊːr|}}) is a highly [[saline water|saline]] lake in an [[endorheic basin]]—[[Uvs Nuur Basin]], primarily in [[Mongolia]] with a smaller part in [[Russia]]. It is the largest lake in Mongolia by surface area, covering 3,350&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> at 759&nbsp;m above sea level.<ref>{{cite web
 |url        = http://www.medeelel.mn/index.php?page=land&sm=73&s=1366
 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120804053719/http://www.medeelel.mn/index.php?page=land&sm=73&s=1366
 |url-status   = dead
 |archive-date = 2012-08-04
 |title      = Увс нуур
 |publisher  = www.medeelel.mn
 |access-date = 2008-02-08
}}</ref> 
The northeastern tip of the lake is situated in the [[Tuva Republic]] of the [[Russia|Russian Federation]]. The largest settlement near the lake is [[Ulaangom]]. This shallow and very [[Salinity|saline]] body of water is a remainder of a huge saline [[sea]] which covered a much larger area several thousand years ago.

== Name ==
The name Uvs Nuur (sometimes spelled Ubsa Nor or Ubsunur) derives from ''subsen'', a Turkic/Mongolian word referring to the bitter dregs left behind in the making of [[Kumis|airag]] (Mongolian fermented [[mare milk]] drink), and ''nuur'', the Mongolian word for lake. The name is a reference to the lake's salty, undrinkable water. In one Mongolian folk tale a character named Sartaktai, known for digging wondrous canals and setting courses for rivers, tries to connect Uvs lake to another nearby lake by digging a canal between them. But when the water of Uvs lake refuses to flow, Sartaktai angrily declares "Be thy name Subsennor!" A name that is defined as "bad wine, dregs of the spirit that comes from the still..."<ref>The Folk-lore Journal. (1886). United Kingdom: Folk-lore Society. P. 32 [https://books.google.com/books/download/The_Folk_lore_Journal.pdf?id=mgcNAQAAMAAJ&output=pdf&sig=ACfU3U0FFZRqMPTNcUonDPyC225YXv6Uuw Folk-lore Society IV]</ref>

== Geography ==
[[File:Great Lakes Depression, Mongolia and Russia, Terra-MODIS, 2001-10-15.jpg|thumb|[[Great Lakes Depression]] from space. Uvs is the largest lake, just above center]]
Uvs Lake has a length of 84&nbsp;km and a width of 79&nbsp;km, with an average depth of 6&nbsp;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.{{cn|date=May 2016}}

The main feeding rivers are the [[Turuun River|Baruunturuun]], Nariin gol, and [[Tes River|Tes]] (primary feed of the lake) from [[Khangai Mountains]] in the east, and the [[Kharkhiraa River]] and Sangil gol from the [[Altai Mountains]] in the west.<ref name="davies">{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/wetlands/pdf/Mongolia.pdf
 |title        = Mongolia
 |author       = Jon Davies
 |publisher    = International Water Management Institute
 |access-date   = 2008-02-10
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20080528115758/http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/wetlands/pdf/Mongolia.pdf
 |archive-date = 2008-05-28
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref>

== Ecology ==
The very large catchment area with no exit results in highly saline water, primarily due to sulphate and sodium ions. It has a salinity of 18.8 [[per mille]], or 1.88%, making it half as salty as the oceans.

The lake freezes over from October to May. In summer, it exhibits a temperature gradient from 25&nbsp;°C at the surface to 19&nbsp;°C at the bottom.<ref name="davies" />

29 different species of fish are known from Uvs Lake,<ref name="bdaarch">{{cite web
| url = http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/programmes/whs05/badarch.pdf
 | title = Uvs Nuur Basin; World Natural Heritage Site
| author = Erdene-Ochir Badarch
| publisher = United Nations Institute for Training and Research
| access-date = 2008-02-10
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080528115759/http://www.unitar.org/hiroshima/programmes/whs05/badarch.pdf |archive-date = 2008-05-28}}</ref> and one of them, the [[Oreoleuciscus potanini|Potanini altai osman]] (''Oreoleuciscus potanini''),<ref name="catalogue of life">{{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
| author = The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)&Species 2000
| publisher = The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)&Species 2000
| access-date = 2008-06-27
}}</ref>
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 Lake site" as an umbrella term to summarize twelve separate clusters of protected sites, each a representative of a  major eastern [[Eurasia]]n [[biome]].<ref>{{cite web
|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
|access-date=2008-02-10
}}
</ref> 
[[File:Uvs-Nuur Hollow, Mongolia, Russia, Landsat-7 CROP.jpg|thumb|left|A satellite image of the western part of the Uvs Lake basin]]

== Lake Uvs Basin ==
{{Main|Uvs Nuur Basin}}
The Uvs Lake is the terminal basin for the [[Uvs Lake Basin]], which covers an area of 70,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> 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.<ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.isar.org/pubs/ST/RUubsunur49.html
 |title        = Ubsu-Nur Accepted into World Network of Biosphere Reserves
 |publisher    = ISAR
 |access-date   = 2006-12-31
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070920173809/http://www.isar.org/pubs/ST/RUubsunur49.html
 |archive-date = 2007-09-20
 |url-status=dead
}}</ref> Apart from the Uvs Lake, the [[Drainage basin|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. 
[[Image:Uvs Nuur drainage basin.jpg|thumb|400px|Uvs Lake drainage basin]]
Since the basin spans the geoclimatic boundary between [[Siberia]] and [[Central Asia]], temperatures may vary from &minus;58&nbsp;°C in winter to 47&nbsp;°C in summer. Despite its harsh climate, the depression is home to 173&nbsp;bird species and 41&nbsp;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.<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://archive.today/20120731135837/http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/campaigns/world-natural-heritage/the-ubsunur-hollow/
|title=The Ubsunur Hollow
|publisher=Greenpeace
|access-date=2006-12-31 
}}</ref>

In 2003, the [[United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|UNESCO]] listed the Uvs Lake Basin as a natural [[World Heritage Site]].<ref name=whs>{{cite web
|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/769
|title=Uvs Nuur Basin
|publisher=whc.unesco.org
|access-date=2007-01-16
}}</ref> 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 [[Turkish people|Turks]] and the [[Huns]]."<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://ces.iisc.ernet.in/hpg/envis/doc-russia-wh.html
|title=Russia's First World Heritage Site
|access-date=2006-12-31 
}}</ref> This transboundary patrimony is one of the largest sites inscribed in the [[World Heritage List]] to date.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Uvs Nuur}}
{{portal|Lakes}}
*[https://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/769rev.pdf UNESCO evaluation of the property]
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/dAUhhjX0fI4wug Uvs Nuur Basin] UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080209193329/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]
*[https://archive.today/20120731135837/http://www.greenpeace.org/russia/en/campaigns/world-natural-heritage/the-ubsunur-hollow/ The Ubsunur Hollow State Biosphere Reserve]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070920173809/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]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080209113244/http://130.166.124.2/world_atlas/6/files/6-1040-full.html Ubsu Nur satellite photo]
*[https://archive.today/20110813083028/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]

{{World Heritage Sites in Mongolia}}
{{Lakes in Mongolia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Lakes of Uvs Province]]
[[Category:Important Bird Areas of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Lakes of Tuva]]
[[Category:Mongolia–Russia border]]
[[Category:International lakes of Asia]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Russia]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Mongolia]]
[[Category:Saline lakes of Asia]]
[[Category:Ramsar sites in Mongolia]]
[[Category:Endorheic lakes of Asia]]