Mongolia’s nickname is “the land of eternal blue sky,” but under that beautiful blue sky lies an incredibly diverse natural environment. Mongolia is an expansive country with 21 provinces, and its geography is as varied as one would expect. Within the borders of Mongolia, you can find five of the 14 terrestrial biomes and 15 of the over 800 ecoregions identified by RESOLVE and One Earth (Do you know what a biome and an ecoregion is?) Within Mongolia, you can discover many distinct ecosystems, supporting a rich variety of fauna and flora. (What do these terms mean?)
The vast swaths of central and eastern Mongolia are covered with temperate and montane grasslands, while the desert landscapes cover much of the south and the west, where Mongolia borders China. To the north, along Mongolia’s border with Siberia, the landscape is occupied by conifer forests, alpine meadows, and tundra. Due to this variety of biomes that exist within Mongolia, many distinct species of animal and plant life thrive here. Pallas's cats, Siberian musk deers, and even elusive snow leopards roam in different corners of the country. In Mongolian tradition, the animals most vital to the welfare of people are the horses, goats, sheep, camels, and cattle.
