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Tuul River

The 488th longest river in the world

704 km

The Tuul River or Tula River (Mongolian, Tuul gol, pronounced [ˈtʰʊːɮ ɢɔɮ], in older sources also Tola) is a river in central and northern Mongolia. Sacred to the Mongols, the Tuul is generally called the Hatan Tuul (Mongolian, [ˈaʰtəɴ tʰʊːɮ], lit. "Queen Tuul"). It is 882.8 kilometres or 549 miles long and drains an area of 49,840 square kilometres or 19,240 square miles. The Secret History of the Mongols (1240 AD) frequently mentions a "Black Forest of the Tuul River" where the palace of Ong Khan was located. The river originates in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area in the Khentii Mountains, in the Erdene sum of Töv aimag. From there, it travels southwest until it reaches the territory of Ulaanbaatar. Its water runs through the southern part of the capital city of Mongolia, continuing in a western direction in large loops. When it meets the border of Bulgan aimag it turns north, running along that border. After it enters Selenge aimag, it discharges into the Orkhon River near the sum center of Orkhontuul sum. The Orkhon flows into the Selenge River, which flows into Russia and Lake Baikal. The Tuul River also flows along the Khustain Nuruu National Park. It is typically frozen over from the middle of November through the middle of April. Willow forests grow along the Tuul River, and the river itself is home to endangered species of sturgeon. Currently the river is suffering from pollution, some caused by Ulaanbaatar's central sewage treatmen

Flows through: Mongolia.

River data from Wikidata (CC0); lengths normalised to a common unit.

Other major rivers

  1. Amazon6,992 km
  2. Nile6,650 km
  3. Yangtze River6,300 km
  4. Bian River5,806 km
  5. Yellow River5,464 km
  6. Paraná River4,880 km
  7. River Congo4,700 km
  8. Mekong River4,350 km