Mongolia is landlocked in the heart of Eurasia , the greatest terrestrial mass of the globe. It is the 6th largest country in Asia and the 18th largest in the world occupying a territory of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers, about the same surface area as France , Germany , Holland , Belgium , Spain and Portugal combined together. The territory of Mongolia , primarily in the west and southwest, is covered with the following three major mountain ranges accompanied by high plateaus. The chain of Altaï in the west, the location of the country's highest extremity (4,374 m), which extends in arc reaching Gobi and forms the region of Gobi Altaï; The Khangaï Range in the central part (peak: 3,905 m), which is the principal water tower of the country and the source of Selenge River, Mongolia's largest river, flowing into Lake Baïkal, a gigantic inland sea, which extends in Russia's Siberia to the north of the country; The Khentii Mounts, the native soils of Chingis Khan, with abundant forests and peaks rising up to 2,800 m, which stretch to the east of the capital city.

The country has a significant network of numerous lakes, rivers, streams and springs located mainly in the north. The most famous of these lakes is unquestionably the lake Khövsgöl located in the northwest of the country. It is remarkable by far more the crowned aspect it represents for Mongols than purely as an attraction for travellers. It is an immense blue lake (130 km long and 30 km wide) with crystal-clear, fresh (and drinkable!) water in the middle of a virtually alpine landscape surrounded by primeval forests and overhung by majestic snow-covered mountains. Mongolia has a widely varied topography. The north and west of the country are primarily mountainous and covered with meadows, steppes and forests that support good pastures and, thus, a settled, relatively dense population. South Mongolia , made up mainly of sagging plates, is the cradle of the famous Gobi Desert , the habitat of such rare mammals who are on the brink of extinction as Mazalai, Gobi 's brown bear, black tail antelope and Havtgai, wild bactrian camel. The Gobi 's region is sparsely populated with stockbreeders of camels, goats and sheep that are adapted to scarce vegetation. The country's east is composed of vast steppes and plains extending to the east from the Khentii Mounts.