| Barkam | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | People's Republic of China |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Sichuan |
| Subdivision Type2: | Prefecture |
| Subdivision Name2: | Ngawa |
| Subdivision Type3: | County-level city |
| Subdivision Name3: | Barkam |
| Area Code: | 837 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Coordinates: | 31.9019°N 102.2175°W |
| Pushpin Map: | Sichuan |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Sichuan |
| Pushpin Label: | Barkam |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 250 |
| Postal Code: | 624000 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Order: | st |
| S: | 马尔康 |
| T: | 馬爾康 |
| P: | Mǎ'ěrkāng |
| Tib: | འབར་ཁམས། |
| Wylie: | 'bar khams |
| Zwpy: | Barkam |
Barkam (Qiang: Bbadh kangw seqea)[1] 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.[2] [3]
Barkam comes from the Tibetan "place of strong fire" and, by extension, "place of prosperity".
On December 18, 2019, the Department of Civil Affairs of Sichuan Province approved the merger of the now-defunct town of into the town of Barkam.[4]
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 NaN°C in December and January to 16.4°C in July, while the annual mean is 8.75°C. Nearly two-thirds of the annual precipitation of 784mm 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 annually.
The town of Barkam administers the following 3 residential communities and 11 administrative villages :[5]
As of the 2010 Chinese Census, before it absorbed the now-defunct town of, 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.