Barkam (simplified Chinese:马尔康镇;traditional Chinese:馬爾康鎮;pinyin:Mǎ'ěrkāng Zhèn, Standard Tibetan:འབར་ཁམས་གྲོང་རྡལ།,romanized:ʼbar khams grong rdal, Qiang: Bbadh kangw seqea)[bettersourceneeded] is a town in and the seat of the county-level city of Barkam, in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, in the northwest of Sichuan province, China.

Toponymy

Barkam comes from the Tibetan "place of strong fire" and, by extension, "place of prosperity".

History

On December 18, 2019, the Department of Civil Affairs of Sichuan Province approved the merger of the now-defunct town of Zhuokeji[zh] into the town of Barkam.

Climate

Due to its elevation, Barkam lies in the transition between a subtropical highland climate (Köppen Cwb) and humid continental climate (Köppen Dwb), with strong monsoonal influences; winters are frosty and summers warm with frequent rain. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −0.5°C (31.1°F) in December and January to 16.4°C (61.5°F) in July, while the annual mean is 8.75°C (47.7°F). Nearly two-thirds of the annual precipitation of 784mm (30.9in) occurs from June to September. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 36% in June to 65% in December, the town receives 2,133 hours of bright sunshine annually. Diurnal temperature variation is large, averaging 16.0°C (28.8°F) annually.

Climate data for Barkam, elevation 2,664m (8,740ft), (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1953–present)
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)22.1 (71.8)24.8 (76.6)29.2 (84.6)31.3 (88.3)34.7 (94.5)35.7 (96.3)35.5 (95.9)36.3 (97.3)33.3 (91.9)30.6 (87.1)23.3 (73.9)19.3 (66.7)36.3 (97.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)11.1 (52.0)14.4 (57.9)17.0 (62.6)19.9 (67.8)22.5 (72.5)23.9 (75.0)25.6 (78.1)25.8 (78.4)23.1 (73.6)18.8 (65.8)15.3 (59.5)11.0 (51.8)19.0 (66.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)−0.2 (31.6)3.4 (38.1)6.8 (44.2)10.1 (50.2)12.9 (55.2)15.1 (59.2)16.6 (61.9)16.3 (61.3)13.7 (56.7)9.2 (48.6)4.1 (39.4)−0.2 (31.6)9.0 (48.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)−7.3 (18.9)−4.0 (24.8)−0.3 (31.5)3.2 (37.8)6.6 (43.9)10.0 (50.0)11.3 (52.3)10.9 (51.6)8.8 (47.8)4.1 (39.4)−2.3 (27.9)−6.8 (19.8)2.9 (37.1)
Record low °C (°F)−18.3 (−0.9)−16.3 (2.7)−12.6 (9.3)−6.9 (19.6)−2.2 (28.0)0.1 (32.2)2.2 (36.0)1.5 (34.7)−1.6 (29.1)−6.2 (20.8)−11.6 (11.1)−16.6 (2.1)−18.3 (−0.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)3.3 (0.13)7.8 (0.31)27.4 (1.08)57.4 (2.26)115.6 (4.55)164.4 (6.47)130.0 (5.12)105.2 (4.14)122.2 (4.81)78.1 (3.07)11.5 (0.45)3.1 (0.12)826 (32.51)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)2.55.610.514.920.522.719.617.718.916.35.42.2156.8
Average snowy days4.16.86.41.90.600000.92.93.326.9
Average relative humidity (%)45445056657475747774595062
Mean monthly sunshine hours196.8175.6184.1185.1181.6147.5167.8173.6155.9156.0186.7200.72,111.4
Percentage possible sunshine61564947423539434345606449
Source 1: China Meteorological Administrationextremes
Source 2: Weather China

Administrative divisions

The town of Barkam administers the following 3 residential communities (Chinese:社区;pinyin:Shè Qū) and 11 administrative villages (Chinese:行政村;pinyin:Xíngzhèng Cūn):

Demographics

As of the 2010 Chinese Census, before it absorbed the now-defunct town of Zhuokeji[zh], Barkam had a population of 29,535. The combined population of Barkam and Zhuokeji totaled 30,547. Barkam had a population of 25,337 as of the 2000 Chinese Census.