1. M o n g o l I a

2. Traditions Tsagaan Sar (meaning White Month)
symbolizes an abundance of milk and for Mongolians is the reason they have always revered white.
Mongolians believe that success and luck for the coming year will be reflected in how people spend the Tsagaan Sar holiday.
The date varies between late January and early March as Mongolia follows the 12 animal cycles of the lunar calendar with other Eastern and central Asian countries.

3. Religion Buddhists: 53% of Country
People without Religion/other: 41.6% of country
Muslim: 4% of country
Christian: 0.7% of country (Not very much is there…)

4. Population and Major Cities
2,632,387 people reside in Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, Darkan, Erdenet are three major cities in Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar consists of 812,000 people, being the Capital of Mongolia
Darkan is the second largest city in the country consisting of 75,000 people
Erdenet is the third largest city of Mongolia. It is like a mining town with little interest for visitors wishing to discover the cultural riches of Central Asia.

5. Physical features with Climate and Vegetation
Location: Northern Asia, between China and Russia
Climate: desert; continental, Large daily and seasonal temperature ranges
Terrain: vast semi desert and desert plains, grassy steppe, mountains in west and southwest, Gobi Desert in south-central
Natural hazards: dust storms; grassland and forest fires; drought; “Zud," which is harsh winter conditions
The northern part of the country is covered by forest mountain ranges
The southern part is covered by desert, desert meadows, and meadow areas with low mountains.
Could not find climate map on the interweb

6. Government and Current Issues
Government type: parliamentary
Legal System:
Blend of Soviet and German systems that employ "continental" or "civil" code
Current issues in Mongolia:
Issue 1: The converting of virgin land to agricultural production increased soil erosion from wind and rain
Issue 2: Desertification and mining activities had a deleterious effect on the environment

7. Environmental Issues Environmental Issues:
Limited natural fresh water resources in some areas
The policies of former Communist regimes promoted rapid urbanization and industrial growth that had negative effects on the environment
The burning of soft coal in power plants and the lack of enforcement of environmental laws severely polluted the air in Ulaanbaatar
Deforestation, overgrazing

8. Educational Opportunity
School year attendance
Males: 12 years
Females: 14 years (as of 2006)
At this time approximately 8,056 Mongolian students are studying abroad thanks to the education fair held in Mongolia by The International Education Exhibition Mongolia 2009

9. Major Industries construction and construction materials
mining (coal, copper, molybdenum, fluorspar, tin, tungsten, and gold); oil
food and beverages
processing of animal products, cashmere and natural fiber manufacturing

10. Animals Located in Mongolia that we have in the zoo
Brown bears, snow leopards, and wild boars
Squirrels, elk, and sables
Maral (Asiatic red deer)