Mongolia - Sunrise at Khövsgöl Nuur (Lake) at Mongolian North

    Lake Khövsgöl (Mongolian: Хөвсгөл нуур, Khövsgöl nuur), also referred to as Khövsgöl dalai (Хөвсгөл далай, Khövsgöl ocean) or Dalai Eej (Далай ээж, ocean mother) is the largest lake in Mongolia by volume, and the second largest by area. Khövsgöl nuur is located in the northwest of Mongolia near the border to Russia, at the foot of the eastern Sayan Mountains. It is 1,645 m above sea level, 136 km long and 262 m deep. It is the second-most voluminous freshwater lake in Asia, and holds almost 70% of Mongolia's fresh water and 0.4% of all the fresh water in the world.

    The lake is surrounded by several mountain ranges. The highest mountain is the Bürenkhaan / Mönkh Saridag (3,492 m), which has its peak north of the lake exactly on the Russian-Mongolian border. The surface of the lake freezes over completely in winter. The ice cover gets strong enough to carry heavy trucks, so that transport routes were installed on its surface as shortcuts to the normal roads. However, this practice is now forbidden, to prevent pollution of the lake from both oil leaks and trucks breaking through the ice. It is estimated that 30-40 cars have sunk into the lake over the years. The Lake area is a National Park bigger than Yellowstone and strictly protected as a transition zone between Central Asian Steppe and Siberian Taiga.

    I would not have originally connected Mongolia with large lakes and forests however there are plenty of them in the North and West of the country. This shot was taken at one of those amazing locations at very early and very chilly morning.

    Camera Model: Canon EOS 5D Mark II; Lens’s focal length: 17.00 - 40.00 mm; Photo Focal length: 20.00 mm; Aperture: 22; Exposure time: 25.0 s; ISO: 100

    All rights reserved - Copyright © Lucie Debelkova

    All images are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed, written permission of the photographer.

    Comments and faves

    1. "V"! (busy week), gavin.burnett, Helga*, The Outsider, and 313 other people added this photo to their favorites.

    2. "V"! (busy week) (20 months ago | reply)

      A real perfection Lucie, the colors are killing me...
      Love the motion of the water and clouds as well.

    3. SFB579 (20 months ago | reply)

      Very nice colourful tones to this.

      Steve

      "Art is man's nature, nature is God's Art."

    4. Ragstatic (20 months ago | reply)

      rich colors and good exp with the water. the comp is not very imposing , could be though

    5. Margall photography (20 months ago | reply)

      good work of composition and details
      fantastic
      Marco

    6. Pete Carroll (20 months ago | reply)

      Great horizontals (the water line, rock placements, horizon line, and the dark parts of the clouds) draw the eye to take in the entire frame edge to edge.

    7. saki_axat (20 months ago | reply)

      Great LongExposure

    8. Sirbaf79 (20 months ago | reply)

      Beautiful lights and colour. Fabrizio

    9. respiraelviento (20 months ago | reply)

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

      commented with FlickrComment

    10. mr limecut (20 months ago | reply)

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

    11. schimi76 (20 months ago | reply)

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

    12. calvin89 (20 months ago | reply)

      Wonderful shot.

      Seen in my contacts' photos.

    13. AJE 44 (20 months ago | reply)

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

    14. Richard Eggert (20 months ago | reply)

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

    15. DavidHart (20 months ago | reply)

      nice capture

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

    16. Monica Forss (20 months ago | reply)

      Nominated

      I pick this photograph to be on the cover of National Geographic
      National Geographic: Are You Good Enough?

    17. Le***Refs *PHOTOGRAPHIE* (20 months ago | reply)

      amazing colors!!
      very nice exposure!!

    18. farbspiel (20 months ago | reply)

      Awesome shot, Lucie! The water looks like a lake of mist! Perfect!

    19. lajojo_lrene (20 months ago | reply)

      Great colors, good composition.

    20. Mario George Vella (20 months ago | reply)

      Awesome! Super sharp!

    21. manelanzon (20 months ago | reply)

      me encanta!

    22. Pepelahuerta (20 months ago | reply)

      Absolutamente fantastica!!Saludos

    23. sztyui (20 months ago | reply)

      Amazing!

    24. Eric 5D Mark III (20 months ago | reply)

      simply amazing.... beautiful!!!

    25. jonrrr (20 months ago | reply)

      amazing sunrise, great picture

    26. macg5555 (20 months ago | reply)

      que belleza, a fav.

    27. COSKUNTUNA ... 800.000 ... THANK YOU_ (20 months ago | reply)

      Superb.!!

      © HAPPY Weekend my friend.©

    28. ***josh*** (20 months ago | reply)

      wonderful shot with beautiful colors and composition. well done Lucie!

    29. 1 Johnny (20 months ago | reply)

      very nice !

    30. Thomaniac (20 months ago | reply)

      Love the contrast between the warm colors in the fantastic sky and the cold blue of the water!

    31. VRfoto (20 months ago | reply)

      Excellent work!

    32. noprayer4dying (20 months ago | reply)

      oh my goodness

    33. Thomas Sittler (20 months ago | reply)

      Nice, but the colors are a bit too artificial for my taste.

    34. Phil Carpenter (20 months ago | reply)

      Loving the contrast between the Sky and Water along with the texture of the shoreline......an instant favourite.......stunning !

    35. Chencho Mendoza (20 months ago | reply)

      Preciosa toma.Un cielo imponente.

    36. Joe Rainbow (20 months ago | reply)

      High contrast and high saturation. Nice shot Lucie, but a bit over for my taste too. It gets the views though :)

    37. Hussain Hafez (20 months ago | reply)

      Beautiful color tones and wonderful composition.

    38. bob4ta (20 months ago | reply)

      Great long exp!! fantastic capture!

    39. Edson Vandeira (20 months ago | reply)

      Magnificaaaaa !! Nice shot

    40. jiggerjohndelgado (20 months ago | reply)

      fantastic Lucie!!

    41. PatrickSmithPhotography (20 months ago | reply)

      Of course yet another fantastic image from a far-flung part of the world. Thanks for bringing it back for us. Hope all is going well!

      Patrick

    ← prev 1 2 3 4 5
    (235 comments)
    keyboard shortcuts: previous photo next photo L view in light box F favorite < scroll film strip left > scroll film strip right ? show all shortcuts