Barköl Kazakh Autonomous County

Barköl Kazakh Autonomous County (Chinese: 巴里坤哈萨克自治县; pinyin: Bālǐkūn Hāsàkèzú Zìzhìxiàn; Uyghur: باركۆل قازاق ئاپتونوم ناھىيىسى‎, ULY: Barköl Qazaq Aptonom Nahiyisi, UYY: Barkɵl K̡azak̡ Aptonom Nah̡iyisi^?, (Kazakh: باركول قازاق اۆتونوميالى اۋدانى Barköl Qazaq awtonomïyalıq awdanı; sometimes written Barkul in English)

The county is part of Kumul Prefecture in Xinjiang, China and has an area of 38,445.3 square kilometres (14,843.8 sq mi).

In the north it borders Mongolia, in the south the city of Kumul and in the west the Mori Kazakh Autonomous County of Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture.

It was made an autonomous county on October 1, 1954.

Barköl is noted for camel and horse breeding with the Barköl horse well known throughout China. Due to the large number of camels, which is unparalleled in China, the county is nicknamed of the "county of ten thousand camels".

Ethnic groups in Barkol, 2000 census

Lake Barkol

Lake Barkol is an alkali lake in a closed basin located at 43°40′05″N 92°48′11″E / 43.668°N 92.803°E / 43.668; 92.803. Current rainfall averages 210 millimetres (8.3 in), while the annual evaporation rate is 2,250 millimetres (89 in). Ancient shorelines show up as concentric rings on the satellite photo at right, indicating that water levels have varied many times in the past. One study identified five climates at Lake Barkol over the past 8,000 years, ranging from warm and wet to cold and wet and finally cold and dry at present. The average annual temperature in the area is now just 1 °C (34 °F), though temperatures swing from extreme highs (33.5 °C (92.3 °F)) to extreme lows (−43.6 °C (−46.5 °F)).