Mongolia Geography Profile 2012

Mongolia is mainly a semiarid terrain with a large range of physical features. In northern, western, southwestern, and central Mongolia are mountains divided by broad basins, plains, and valleys. The peak elevations are in the Altai Mountains, where numerous peaks reach more than 14,000 feet (4,270 m). Most of southern and southeastern Mongolia is occupied by the Gobi desert and the Mongolian Plateau. Short grasses cover most of the country's land.
almost all of the rivers are in the northern half of the nation and drain northward toward Russia. The Selenge River and its tributaries, chief of which is the Orhon, form the principal drainage system. additional rivers include the Kerulen and the Dzavhan; both empty into lakes having no outward drainage.
Mongolia has a continental climate, discernible by much sunny weather and extreme seasonal variations of temperature. In a lot of ways the climate resembles that of Siberia. Winters are bitterly cold and summers are warm to hot. At the capital city of Ulaanbaator, for example, temperatures range from a winter low of about - 14° F. ( -26° C.) to a summer high of about 75° F. (24° C.). Precipitation is scanty everywhere; it decreases from about 12 inches (300 mm) a year in the north to less than 2 inches (50 mm) in the south.