Editing Geography of Mongolia (section)

== Rivers and lakes ==
{{See also|List of rivers of Mongolia|List of lakes of Mongolia}}
[[File:Mongolia Topography.png|thumb|left|upright=1.5|Topography of Mongolia]]
Some of Mongolia's waterways drain to the oceans, but many finish at [[Endorheic basins]] in the deserts and the depressions of Inner Asia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grizard |first1=Pierre |last2=Schmitt |first2=Jean-Michel |last3=Goblet |first3=Patrick |title=Hydrogeology of an arid endorheic basin (Tsagaan Els, Dornogobi, Mongolia): field data and conceptualization, three-dimensional groundwater modeling, and water budget |journal=Hydrogeology Journal |date=February 2019 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=145–160 |id={{ProQuest|2110121076}} |doi=10.1007/s10040-018-1868-1 |bibcode=2019HydJ...27..145G }}</ref> Rivers are most extensively developed in the north, and the country's major river system is that of the [[Selenga|Selenge]], which drains via [[Lake Baikal]] to the [[Arctic Ocean]].<ref name=":0" /> Some minor tributaries of Siberia's [[Yenisei River]], which also flows to the Arctic Ocean, rise in the mountains of northwestern Mongolia.<ref name=":0" /> In northeastern Mongolia the [[Onon River]] drains into the [[Pacific Ocean]] through the [[Shilka River]] in Russia and the [[Amur River|Amur]] (Heilong Jiang) rivers,<ref name=":0" /> forming the [[List of rivers by length|tenth longest]] river system in the world.

[[File:Mongolia 1996 CIA map.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The southern portion of Mongolia is taken up by the [[Gobi Desert]], while the northern and western portions are mountainous.]]
Many rivers of western Mongolia end at lakes in the [[Central Asian Internal Drainage Basin]], most often in the [[Great Lakes Depression]], or at [[Hulun Lake]], [[Ulaan Lake]] or [[Ulungur Lake]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Rivers and Water|url=http://www.welcome2mongolia.com/archives/rivers/|website=Mongolia Travel Guide|access-date=26 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127152620/http://www.welcome2mongolia.com/archives/rivers/|archive-date=27 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> The few streams of southern Mongolia do not reach the sea but run into lakes or deserts.<ref name=":0" />

Mongolia's largest lake by area, [[Uvs Lake]] is in the Great Lakes Depression. Mongolia's largest lake by volume of water, [[Lake Khövsgöl]], drains via the Selenge river to the Arctic Ocean. One of the most easterly lakes of Mongolia, [[Hoh Nuur]], at an elevation of 557 metres, is the lowest point in the country.<ref>{{cite book|title=Central Asian Review, Volume 15|date=1967|publisher=Central Asian Research Centre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7hBAAAAYAAJ&q=lake+%22Hoh+Nuur%22|access-date=26 November 2016}}</ref> In total, the lakes and rivers of Mongolia cover 10,560 square kilometres, or 0.67% of the country.<ref name="CIA Factbook Mongolia"/>