Barkhan - Dinosaur Valley of Pakistan (Balochistan)
Barkhan is located at the distance of 418 km from Quetta city via Loralai on the National Highway N-70. Its landscape consists of plains, valleys and mountains having average elevation of 1,000 to 2,100 meters in the Sulaiman Mountain Range.
Barkhan has common boundaries with Dera Bugti, Kohlu, Loralai, Musakhel, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Ranjanpur districts. The National Highway N-70 runs across the upper part of the district and mostly used to access Quetta via Loralai district. From the town of Rakhni on the National Highway N-70, all of other towns of the district can be accessible. A small road leads from the town of Barkhan to Quetta via Kuchlak-Zhob Highway N-50.
Baro Khan was a great worrier who came in this region. He was the founder of Barozai tribe descended from Pannis tribe. The region was then called as Bar Khan and finally changed to Barkhan.
Barkhan district is basically combination of various valleys in the Sulaiman Mountain Range, in which Barkhan is the main valley. Low ranges separate these valley with each other. These ranges mostly consist of sand and stones, where some portions are rocky. There are several streams flow down from these valleys and most of these finally merge in the Kah River in Dera Ghazi Khan. Rakhni, Han, and Bala Dhaka are the main streams of the district. Important hills in the district are Kala Pahar, Karwada, Bibar, Phulai, etc. Due to its land structure, it is an homeland of different wild animals, birds and reptiles. Striped hyena, porcupine, Afghan and hedgehog are the common mammals, whereas chukar, golden eagle, hawk, and sand grouse are important birds found in the district. Some reptiles are also found there such as Afghan tortoise, Indian cobra, and different species of viper.
Most of the streams in the district are seasonal, but there water can be used to cultivate various crops in the plains. Wheat, barley, millet, maize, and cotton are the common crops of the area. On the mountain ridges, there are numerous fruit orchards of grapes, apricot, plum, almond, pomegranate, etc.
The importance of this district is due to the discovery of first dinosaur fossils in Pakistan by Geological Survey of Pakistan, so it is also known as Dinosaur Valley of Pakistan. Awaran has rich in various mineral resources such as coal, oil, gas, and gypsum.
The weather of the Barkhan district is extreme hot in summer season due to lot of barren mountain ranges, whereas winter becomes moderate cool and pleasant. There is a negligible amount of rainfalls in the monsoon period during July to September, but considerable rainfalls normally occurred in the winter season due to western breeze.