HU-LUN LAKE

Wade-Giles romanization Hu-lun Hu, Pinyin Hulun He, Mongol Hulun Nur, also called Chalai Nor, or Dalai Nor large lake in the Hu-lun-pei-erh Plain, northern Inner Mongolia autonomous region, China. The lake is fed by the K'o-lu-lun River, which flows from the west, and by the Orxon (Wu-erh-hsn) River, which flows from the south. Hu-lun Lake has varied considerably in area according to variations in the climate. At one time it was part of a large lake that included Pei-erh Lake, a somewhat smaller lake situated in the south of the Hu-lun-pei-erh Plain, which drains into Hu-lun Lake via the Orxon River. Normally Hu-lun covers an area of about 894 square miles (2,315 square km). It is comparatively shallow and is joined by a seasonal channel to the Hai-la-erh River, which flows into the Argun River. For much of the year, however, it is undrained, and occasionally, when its level is very low, there is a reverse flow of waters from the Hai-la-erh River into the lake. All the rivers of this area are unstable, owing partly to the concentration of rainfall in a short period of the summer and partly to the great annual variations in the weather. Unlike most of the lakes in the Hu-lun-pei-erh region, which are highly saline, both Hu-lun and Pei-erh lakes have fresh water with a very low salt content. Both are well-stocked with fish, which are consumed throughout the region. During the six months of bitter winter cold, most of the fish in Hu-lun Lake migrate up the Orxon River to Pei-erh Lake.