Editing Selenga (section)

== Watershed ==
The Selenga River basin is part of the larger international Arctic Ocean Basin and is located in northern Mongolia.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=AQUASTAT - FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture|url=http://www.fao.org/NR/water/aquastat/countries_regions/Profile_segments/MNG-WR_eng.stm|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.fao.org}}</ref> A semi-arid region, the basin is 280,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup><ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Ma|first1=X.|last2=Yasunari|first2=T.|last3=Ohata|first3=T.|last4=Natsagdorj|first4=L.|last5=Davaa|first5=G.|last6=Oyunbaatar|first6=D.|date=2003|title=Hydrological regime analysis of the Selenge River basin, Mongolia|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/hyp.1442|journal=Hydrological Processes|volume=17|issue=14|pages=2929–2945|doi=10.1002/hyp.1442|bibcode=2003HyPr...17.2929M |s2cid=128740185 |issn=0885-6087|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and is Mongolia's largest basin. The basin has two main rivers: the Selenga and the Selenga's tributary, the Orkhon. The "major sub-basins are the Egiin, Ider, Orkhon and Tuul river basins" with Lake Baikal occupying 47% of the Selenga River basin.<ref name=":4" /> The terrain of the basin is dominated "by forest or grassland and is underlain by permafrost" according to an article published in 2003 by Ma ''et al''.<ref name=":5" />

Lobate shaped and 40&nbsp;km wide, the Selenga River delta is surrounded by marshlands. The formation of the delta is dependent on the sediment load carried by the river, with the lake tides having little impact in terms of geographical change.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|date=2011-11-28|title=Snowfall on the Selenga River Delta, Russia|url=https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/76521/snowfall-on-the-selenga-river-delta-russia|access-date=2020-11-02|website=earthobservatory.nasa.gov}}</ref> The sediment balance of the delta is dependent on physical processes, and this, in turn, affects the geochemical barrier functions of the area. During the period of the Irkutsk dam construction (1950–56), there was "increased sediment delivery to the delta" according to an article published in 2017 by Chalov ''et al''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chalov|first1=Sergey|last2=Thorslund|first2=Josefin|last3=Kasimov|first3=Nikolay|last4=Aybullatov|first4=Denis|last5=Ilyicheva|first5=Elena|last6=Karthe|first6=Daniel|last7=Kositsky|first7=Alexey|last8=Lychagin|first8=Mikhail|last9=Nittrouer|first9=Jeff|last10=Pavlov|first10=Maxim|last11=Pietron|first11=Jan|date=October 2017|title=The Selenga River delta: a geochemical barrier protecting Lake Baikal waters|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10113-016-0996-1|journal=Regional Environmental Change |volume=17|issue=7|pages=2039–2053|doi=10.1007/s10113-016-0996-1|s2cid=32043451 |issn=1436-3798}}</ref> The wetlands of the Selenga River delta are classified as a [[Ramsar site]] and are found within the administrative region of the Republic of Buryatia.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|title=Selenga Delta |url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/682?language=en|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service}}</ref> The wetlands support a large number of threatened and endemic species, including over 170 species of bird.<ref name=":6" /> The area has mean air temperatures of 14 degrees Celsius in July and -19.4 degrees Celsius in January, with floods often occurring in summer after heavy rains.<ref name=":7" />

The [[Selenge-Orkhon forest steppe]] is a palearctic ecoregion that is a medium between steppe and taiga. The region includes the Orkhon and Selenge river basins, and features scattered forests as well as extensive mountain ranges. The mean altitude of the landscape is 800-1200m, with flora like ''[[Rosa acicularis]]'' found at lower altitudes. The area has a dry and humid climate that is influenced by warm winds from the northeast steppe regions.<ref name=":8" />