The highest point in Mongolia is Nairamdal (4,374 m) in the Mongolian Altai mountain range.

Mongolia is one of the highest countries in the world, with an average elevation of 1580 metres.

Fossilized dinosaur remains and the first find of dinosaur eggs were discovered in the Gobi Desert by Roy Chapman Andrews, the American paleontologist, in the 1920s.

The fossil of a velociraptor was found in Mongolia's Gobi Desert in 1998. Some scientists have suggested that the small dinosaur was feathery and possibly had wings.

Mongolia has a very low population density.

The majority of people living in Mongolia led nomadic lives until the middle of the twentieth century.

In 1206 the nomadic Mongol tribes were united by Genghis Khan.

The Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape, a World Heritage site, includes Kharkhorum, the thirteenth and fourteenth century capital of the Mongol Empire.

Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, conquered China and established the Yuan Dynasty.

At its height, the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 AD) covered much of Asia and stretched into Europe, as far as Hungary.

In the seventeenth century, the Manchu Qing Empire (China) divided Mongolia into Inner Mongolia (southern Mongolia) and Outer Mongolia (northern Mongolia).

The Treaty of Kyakhta (1727) established the areas of Mongolia controlled by Manchu China and those controlled by Russia.

Outer Mongolia declared independence in 1911 but was occupied by the Chinese in 1919.

Outer Mongolia became independent from China in July 1921.

The Mongolian People's Republic was proclaimed towards the end of 1924.

Inner Mongolia remained part of China (the Autonomous Region of Nei Mongol).

In the 1960s diplomatic relations were established between Mongolia and the UK.

The formation of the Mongolian Democratic Union in 1990 followed reforms introduced by Gorbachev in the USSR and the move towards democracy in Eastern Europe.

A new Constitution (12 February 1992) established Mongolia as an independent, sovereign republic.

Mongolia experienced earthquakes in 1905 (Bulnay - 8.1) and 1957 (Gobi-Altay - 8.0).

An earthquake in Central Mongolia, in July 2006, measured 5.1 on the Richter scale.

At the beginning of 2001 the United Nations made an appeal for money to support Mongolian herders suffering from particularly severe winter weather.

In 2006 Mongolia commemorated the eight hundred year anniversary of the foundation of the Mongol Empire. A statue of Genghis Khan was erected in the capital.

Extreme cold in 2010 killed much of Mongolia's livestock.

The Mongol Rally is an annual eight thousand mile journey by car (1000cc) or motorbike (maximum 125cc) from London to the capital of Mongolia. Participants in the rally raise money for charity.