Mongolia's Geography and Climate

For the most part, Mongolia consists of a plateau that is broken up by mountain ranges.  The plateau ranges from 900 to 1,500 meters in height (3,000 - 5,000 ft), while the Altay Mountains, found in southwest Mongolia reach above 4,000 meters.  In central and southeast Mongolia, the Gobi Desert can be found.

Mongolia's forests are filled with pine, larch and cedar trees, which can be found in the mountains.  Other natural resources to be found are minerals such as copper, iron, fluorspar, gold, silver, uranium, coal and iron.

Mongolia has an extreme climate with temperatures varying greatly with the seasons.  In the summer, the temperature ranges from 10 - 20 degrees C (50 - 80 degrees F); while in the winter the highs tend to be about -21 degrees C, with lows of -30 degrees C (-5 to -22 degrees F).  The summers in Mongolia tend to have about 15 inches of rain (380 mm), excluding the desert, while the winters are typically without precipitation.