Uvs is one of the 21 aimags

Aimags of Mongolia

Mongolia is divided into 21 aimags . Each aimag is subdivided into several sums. The name aimag is derived from the Mongolian and Turkic languages word for "tribe". The modern aimags were established since 1921...

 (provinces) of Mongolia

Mongolia

Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

. It is located in the west of the country, 1336 km away from the national capital Ulaanbaatar

Ulaanbaatar

Ulan Bator or Ulaanbaatar is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent municipality, the city is not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is over one million....

.
Its capital is Ulaangom

Ulaangom

Ulaangom is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located 26 km South-West from the lake Uvs Nuur shore and on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountain, 120 km South to the Russian border.- Description :...

 which lies 936m above the Sea

Sea

A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...

 level.

The province is named after Mongolia's biggest lake, Uvs Lake.

Geography

Parts of the steppe

Steppe

In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...

 in this province are protected as the World Heritage Site

World Heritage Site

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...

 Ubsunur Hollow

Ubsunur Hollow

Ubsunur Hollow is a fragile mountain endorheic basin or depression located on the territorial border of Mongolia and the Republic of Tuva in the Russian Federation, named after Uvs Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake in the basin's center. Several smaller lakes are scattered throughout...

. In the north the province borders the Russian Federation for 640km, in the east 340 km of border lies between Uvs and Zavkhan province. In the south and west it borders with Khovd and Bayan-Ölgii provinces for 200km each. The province occupies 4.45% of the national territory, which is equivalent of 69,585 sq. km. 60% of total area of the province belongs to the mountainous climatic zone, and 40% to the Gobi

Gobi Desert

The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the...

 semi-desert.

Population

Altaic people live in the province throughout history. Now, 60% of population is Do'rbet, 15% is Bayid

Bayid

The Bayid is third largest subgroup of the Mongols in Mongolia and was a tribe in Four Oirats. Bayids were a prominent clan within the Mongol Empire. Bayids can be found in both Mongolic and Turkic peoples...

 and 15% is Halh. Even today there are Tuvans

Tuvans

Tuvans or Tuvinians are Turkic peoples living in southern Siberia. They are historically known as one of the Uriankhai, from the Mongolian designation...

, Khotons and Kazakhs

Kazakhs

The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....

 living in this province.

History

After the revolution in 1921 in Mongolia, on November 21, 1925 the government founded the Chandmani Uulyn Aimag . This province included the whole western part of the country, i.e. today's Uvs, Khovd and Bayan-Ölgii Aimags. In 1931 Chandmani Uulyn Aimag aimag was split up into the Khovd and Dörvöd aimags. Dörvöd aimag was renamed to Uvs aimag in 1933.

Administrative Subdivision

The sums of Uvs Aimag

Sum	Mongolian Mongolian language The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...	Population 2003 est.	Population 2005 est.	Population 2007 est.	Population 2008 est.	Sum centre population 2007 est.
Baruunturuun Baruunturuun, Uvs Baruunturuun is a Sum in Uvs Province of Mongolia.It is the heart land of the grains of the province. The center lies on the bank of Turuun River. The sum is also one of the most populous area in the province. MIAT Mongolian Airlines flew to Barrunturuun directly from Ulan Bator until 2005, but...	Баруунтуруун	3,241	2,738	3,074	2,810	2,010
Bo'hmoron	Бөхмөрөн	2,261	2,217	2,150	2,187	779
Davst Davst, Uvs Davst is a sum of Uvs Province in western Mongolia, bordering to Russia in the north.The reason it is called "salty" is that there is the biggest natural salt rock deposit in the country. The sum occupies the northern tip of Uvs Nuur which is 5 times saltier than the ocean.Border crossing to...	Давст	1,854	1,748	1,820	1,784	537
Hovd	Ховд	2,463	2,440	2,458	2,475	503
Hyargas	Хяргас	2,491	2,614	2,663	2,511	765
Malchin Malchin, Uvs Malchin is a sum of Uvs Province in western Mongolia....	Малчин	2,938	2,887	2,872	2,502	707
Naranbulag Naranbulag, Uvs Naranbulag is a sum of Uvs Province in western Mongolia....	Наранбулаг	4,881	4,935	4,893	4,658	1,044
O'lgii	Өлгий	2,629	2,649	2,620	2,444	478
O'mnogovi	Өмнөговь	4,335	4,526	4,503	4,336	1,034
O'ndorhangai	Өндөрхангай	3,588	3,640	3,768	3,779	930
Sagil Sagil, Uvs Sagil is a sum of Uvs Province in western Mongolia.The main road connecting Ulaangom to Khandagayty, Russia goes 5.5 km east from the center of the sum....	Сагил	2,245	2,245	2,336	2,343	1,015
Tarialan Tarialan, Uvs Tarialan is a sum of Uvs Province in western Mongolia.It is the closest sum to Ulaangom, only about 30 km away from the provincial capital. The center of the sum is on Kharkhiraa river coming out of the Kharkhiraa mountain....	Тариалан	5,137	5,115	4,499	4,004	1,393
Tes Tes, Uvs Tes is a sum of Uvs Province in western Mongolia.It is named after the Tesiin gol river that flows through the sum. Part of the area is covered with sand dunes. The sum's western end is the eastern shore of Uvs Nuur....	Тэс	6,014	6,092	6,053	5,623	667
Tsagaanhairhan	Цагаанхайрхан	2,598	2,462	2,499	2,501	624
Tu'rgen	Түргэн	1,867	1,877	1,933	1,960	603
Ulaangom Ulaangom Ulaangom is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located 26 km South-West from the lake Uvs Nuur shore and on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountain, 120 km South to the Russian border.- Description :...	Улаангом	26,940	25,339	24,071	24,167	21,406*
Zavhan	Завхан	2,261	2,052	2,042	1,936	650
Zu'ungovi	Зүүнговь	2,644	2,599	2,620	2,578	657
Zu'unhangai	Зүүнхангай	2,725	2,749	2,599	2,586	618

^* - aimag capital Ulaangom

Ulaangom

Ulaangom is the capital of Uvs Province in Mongolia. It is located 26 km South-West from the lake Uvs Nuur shore and on the slopes of the Kharkhiraa mountain, 120 km South to the Russian border.- Description :...