Kherlen River

Kherlen River (also known as Kern or Kerülen; Хэрлэн гол; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. It is also one of the two longest rivers in Mongolia, aside from Orkhon River.

Course
The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mountains, near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area, about 180 km northeast of Ulaanbaatar. This area constitutes the divide between the Arctic (Tuul River) and Pacific (Kherlen, Onon) basins and is consequently named “Three River Basins”.

From there the Kherlen flows in a mostly eastern direction through the Khentii aimag. On its further way it crosses the eastern Mongolian steppe past Ulaan Ereg and Choibalsan, entering China at 48.05°N, 115.6°W and emptying into Hulun Nuur after another 164 km.

Kherlen-Ergune-Amur
In years with high precipitation, the normally exitless Hulun Lake may overflow at its northern shore, and the water will meet the Ergune River after about 30 km. The Ergune marks the border between Russia and China for about 944 km, until it meets the Amur River. The system Kherlen-Ergune-Amur has a total length of 5,052 km.