Mongolia’s topography is generally mountainous and interspersed with broad areas of plains. The highest mountain is Mount Munk Kharhan at 4362 m and the lowest area is the basin of Lake Khkhu Nur at an altitude of 552 m.

In the north, the virgin forests of the taiga cover approximately 8 per cent of the whole territory of Mongolia. Eighty-eight per cent of the country is good pasture land and is well watered by numerous rivers and lakes. In the south, the steppe changes into desert steppe and scrubland, and then into the semi-desert of the Gobi. Less than 1 per cent of Mongolia is a sandy desert.

The climate of Mongolia is continental, with four distinct seasons: spring, which is variable and windy; a hot dry summer with temperatures normally rising to 25 to 30°C; cool autumn; and a cold winter with heavy snowfalls and temperatures as low as -30°C. The temperature in summer may sometimes reach 42°C, while in winter it may fall as low as -52°C. Average annual precipitation is 200 to 300 mm. In the Khangai Mountains precipitation can reach 400 to 450 mm, but in some places in the Gobi, it amounts to only 60 to 100 mm a year.