Barköl Kazakh Autonomous County


Barköl Kazak Autonomous County is part of Kumul Prefecture in Xinjiang and has an area of. It forms part of the China–Mongolia border on the county's north, while bordering Yizhou District to the south, Yiwu County to the east and Changji's Mori Kazakh Autonomous County to the west.
Barköl was made an autonomous county on October 1, 1954. It 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 or Barskul, is an alkali lake in a closed basin located at. Current rainfall averages , while the annual evaporation rate is. 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, though temperatures swing from extreme highs to extreme lows.