Arkhangai is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia

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...

.
It is located slightly west to the country's center, on the northern slopes of the Khangai Mountains.

Geography

The Arkhangai aimag is located in the interior of the country and borders to the following other aimags: Bulgan

Bulgan Province

Bulgan is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia, located in northern Mongolia. Its capital is also named Bulgan.- Geography :The aimag is surrounded by the aimags Khövsgöl in the northwest, Arkhangai in the southwest, Övörkhangai in the south, Töv in the southeast, and Selenge in the northeast...

 (north east), Övörkhangai (south east), Bayankhongor (south), Zavkhan (west), and Khövsgöl (north west).

The highest point is Kharlagtai Peak at 3,529 m (11,578 ft), while the lowest point is the area on the confluence of the Orkhon and Tamir rivers at 1,290 m (4,232 ft). The most well-known mountain is the extinct volkano Khorgo

Khorgo

The Khorgo is an extinct volcano in the Arkhangai Province of Mongolia. It is located on the northern slopes of the Khangai Mountains. The Khorgo lies east of the lake Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur and together they are the core of the Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park. An notable geological...

, which is part of the Khorgo-Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur National Park.

Bodies of water

The rivers Chuluut, Khanui, and Tamir have their origins in the valleys of the Khangai Mountains. Together with some smaller tributaries they all belong to the watershed of the Selenge

Selenga

The Selenge is a major river in Mongolia and Buryatia, Russia. Its source rivers are the Ider River and the Delgermörön river. It flows into Lake Baikal and has a length of 616 miles...

. The Orkhon also traverses the eastern end of the aimag for a short stretch.

The lake Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur

Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur

Terkhiin Tsagaan Lake also known as White Lake is a lake in the Khangai Mountains in central Mongolia. The Khorgo volcano is located near the eastern end of the lake and the Suman River springs from lake....

 is located in the west. According to a legend it was created when a giant took a large rock and threw it away. Looking back he saw a white surface and exclaimed in surprise, "Look, a white lake!" The exclamation has become the name of the lake. The rock ended up farther to the east and is called Taikhar Chuluu. The small lake Ögii Nuur

Ögii Nuur

Ögii Nuur may refer to* Ögii Lake , in Mongolia* Ögii Nuur District, in Mongolia...

 is located in the eastern part of the aimag in the Sum of the same name.

History

After the People’s Revolution

Outer Mongolian Revolution of 1921

The Outer Mongolian revolution of 1921 was both a military and political event. With the assistance of the Soviet Red Army, Mongolian revolutionaries expelled Russian White Guards from the country, and created a new state, named the Mongolian People's Republic in 1924. Although nominally...

 won in 1921 throughout Mongolia reforms in
administrative unit were made and the Tsetserleg Mandal Uul aimag was
established on the foundation of Sain Noyon Khan aimag.
Arkhangai aimag was formed from parts of the Tsetserleg Mandal Uul aimag in 1931. At that time, the aimag had 35 sums, 65,333 inhabitants in 22,285 households, and 1,800,000 head of livestock. The aimag center Tsetserleg was established at the site of the Zaya Khüree monastery, which had been first founded in 1586.

Population

Arkhangai covers 55,313.82 km² (21,357 sq mi), and had 89,282 citizens in Dec.31 2008, in Dec. 31 2009 89,331 who live in 19 sums and 99 bags (subdistricts)

Transportation

There are currently no flights to Tsetserleg's airport. The Post Bus travels daily to Tsetserleg through Kharkhorin, leaving from Dragon Center in Ulaanbaatar at 8:00 am. The price of a ticket is around 20,000 MNT. Small microbuses also travel daily to Tsetserleg, but are much less reliable.

Climate

In winter mean temperature is −30 °C to −38 °C (−22 °F to −36 °F) and in summer the highest temperature is between 25 °C and 36 °C (77 °F and 97 °F).

Economy

The main field of economy in the aimag is agriculture, predominantly animal husbandry. According to 2004 data, the aimag was home to 1,948,000 domestic animals: goats, sheep, cattle (incl. yaks and khainags), horses and camels. Camels are almost exclusively herded in the southeastern sums.

Administrative subdivision

The aimag capital Tsetserleg is geographically located in the Bulgan sum in the south of the aimag. It is not to be confused with the Tsetserleg sum

Tsetserleg, Arkhangai

Tsetserleg is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia.The sum is located in the north of the aimag, both geographically and administratively separate from the aimag capital Tsetserleg....

 in the north.

The Sums of Arkhangai 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 (2005)	Population (2008)	Population (2009)	Area km²	Density /km²	Sum centre population
Battsengel	Батцэнгэл	3,818	3,855	3,846	3,500	1.10	1,096
Bulgan	Булган	2,285	2,361	2,434	3,100	0.79	961
Chuluut	Чулуут	3,943	3,749	3,744	3,900	0.96	935
Erdenebulgan*	Эрдэнэбулган	17,790	18,022	17,770	536	33.15	17,770
Erdenemandal	Эрдэнэмандал	6,099	5,843	5,933	3,400	1.74	1,091
Ikh-Tamir Ikh-Tamir Ikh-Tamir is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia. The Tamir River passes through the sum....	Их тамир	5,714	5,154	5,247	4,800	1.09	1,050
Jargalant	Жаргалант	4,089	4,114	4,111	3,832	1.07	1,035
Khairkhan	Хайрхан	3,756	3,558	3,656	2,500	1.46	739
Khangai	Хангай	3,054	2,805	2,926	4,400	0.66	795
Khashaat Khashaat Khashaat ) is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia....	Хашаат	3,594	3,305	3,344	2,600	1.29	802
Khotont Khotont Khotont is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia....	Хотонт	4,763	4,809	4,440	2,200	2.02	774
Ögii nuur	Өгий нуур	3,015	3,041	3,086	n.a	n.a.	622
Ölziit	Өлзийт	3,154	3,037	3,102	1,700	1.82	829
Öndör-Ulaan Öndör-Ulaan Öndör Ulaan is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia....	Өндөр-Улаан	5,873	5,729	5,798	4,000	1.45	1,097
Tariat Tariat Tariat is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia....	Тариат	5,082	5,022	5,086	3,800	1.34	644
Tüvshrüülekh	Түвшрүүлэх	3,489	3,410	3,438	1,200	2.86	1,869
Tsakhir Tsakhir Tsakhir is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia.Tsakhir sum lies on the extreme western edge of the aimag. On the east, it borders the sums Tariat to the north and the Khangai to the south. The western border is adjacent to Zavkhan Aimag. To the north is the Khövsgöl Aimag, and to the...	Цахир	2,058	2,126	2,143	3,398	0.63	438
Tsenkher Tsenkher Tsenkher is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia....	Цэнхэр	5,480	5,387	5,414	3,200	1.69	997
Tsetserleg Tsetserleg, Arkhangai Tsetserleg is a sum of Arkhangai Province in central Mongolia.The sum is located in the north of the aimag, both geographically and administratively separate from the aimag capital Tsetserleg....	Цэцэрлэг	2,058	3,955	3,813	2,500	1.53	848

^* - The aimag capital Tsetserleg