Wall of Genghis Khan

This post is part of the Mongolia Week series of posts for February 22-28.

Mostly located in northeastern MONGOLIA, the Wall of Genghis Khan stretches across two provinces (aymguud, or aymag in the singular form) in Mongolia. Unlike the Great Wall of China, this wall is rather difficult to find on aerial images and currently stands about nine feet in some locations. You may be asking, why was this wall built? Genghis Khan's son, Ögedei, and possibly other helpers are believed to have built it about 2,000 years ago as an animal fence to prevent wild gazelle from leaving his land. While Ögedei was worried about animals leaving his area, the Great Wall of China's builders were worried about Mongols invading their area!

In regards to geographic location, the wall in northeast Hentiy province parallels the Ereen Daavani mountain range, which is diagonally oriented northeasterly and southwesterly. Next, the wall crosses northern Dornod province, where tiny lakes and streams dot the landscape. Some of those lakes include Har Nuur, Höh Nuur, Hyartin Nuur, and Jirmiyn Tsagaan Nuur. Further east, it crosses into northeastern China and travels about 90 kilometers (56 miles) through the Nei Mongol Autonomous Region, barely reaching the border with Russia.