Arkhangai Province

This article is about a province of Mongolia. For other uses, see Khangai (disambiguation).

Arkhangai Province ᠠᠷᠤᠬᠠᠩᠭ᠋ᠠᠢᠠᠶᠢᠮᠠᠭ Архангай аймаг
Province
Tariat landscape
Flag Official seal of Arkhangai Province Seal
Coordinates:
Country	Mongolia
Established	1931
Capital	Tsetserleg
Area
• Total	55,313.82 km2 (21,356.79 sq mi)
Elevation(at highest point)	3,529 m (11,578 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	84,584
• Density	1.5/km2 (4.0/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8
Area code(s)	+976 133
ISO 3166 code	MN-073
Vehicle registration	АР_
Website	arkhangai.gov.mn

Panoramic view of Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur.

Arkhangai (Mongolian: Архангай, literally Northern Khangai) is one of the 21 aimags of Mongolia. It is located slightly west of 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 (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, 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. The Orkhon also traverses the eastern end of the aimag for a short stretch.

The lake Terkhiin Tsagaan Nuur 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 is located in the eastern part of the aimag in the Sum of the same name.

History

After the People’s Revolution 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

Sums of Arkhangai

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 in the north.

The Sums of Arkhangai aimag

Sum	Mongolian	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	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	Хашаат	3,594	3,305	3,344	2,600	1.29	802
Khotont	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	Өндөр-Улаан	5,873	5,729	5,798	4,000	1.45	1,097
Tariat	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	Цахир	2,058	2,126	2,143	3,398	0.63	438
Tsenkher	Цэнхэр	5,480	5,387	5,414	3,200	1.69	997
Tsetserleg	Цэцэрлэг	2,058	3,955	3,813	2,500	1.53	848

^* - The aimag capital Tsetserleg