Gobi Desert recorded as low as . In contrast, in Alxa, Inner Mongolia, it rises as high as in July. Average winter minimums are a frigid , while summertime maximums are a warm . Most of the precipitation falls during the summer. Although the southeast monsoons reach the southeast parts of the Gobi, the area throughout this region is generally characterized by extreme dryness, especially during the winter, when the Siberian anticyclone is at its strongest. The southern and central parts of the Gobi Desert have variable plant growth due to this monsoon activity. The more northern areas of the Gobi are
Gobi Desert as a buffer against further desertification. The Gobi, broadly defined, can be divided into five distinct dry ecoregions, based on variations in climate and topography: The surface is extremely diversified, although there are no great differences in vertical elevation. Between Ulaanbaatar () and the small lake of Iren-dubasu-nor (), the surface is greatly eroded. Broad flat depressions and basins are separated by groups of flat-topped mountains of relatively low elevation ), through which archaic rocks crop out as crags and isolated rugged masses. The floors of the depressions lie mostly between above sea-level. Farther south, between Iren-dutiasu-nor and the Yellow