Barkly East Barkly-Oos
Barkly East viewed from behind the mountain NG Church Old Manor House Loch Bridge near Barkly East
Barkly East Show map of Eastern Cape Barkly East Show map of South Africa Barkly East Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 30°58′05″S 27°35′36″E / 30.96806°S 27.59333°E / -30.96806; 27.59333
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Joe Gqabi
Municipality	Senqu
Established	1873[1]
Area [2]
• Total	16.80 km2 (6.49 sq mi)
Elevation	1,790 m (5,870 ft)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	9,986
• Density	590/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	90.4%
• Coloured	6.2%
• Indian/Asian	0.2%
• White	2.9%
• Other	0.3%
First languages (2011) [2]
• Xhosa	74.6%
• Sotho	11.7%
• Afrikaans	8.6%
• English	2.6%
• Other	2.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	9786
PO box	9786
Area code	045-971-
Website	www.barklyeast.co.za

Barkly East (Afrikaans: Barkly-Oos) is a town in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, seat of the Joe Gqabi District Municipality, and 117 km by road E.S.E. of Aliwal North, lying in the mountainous area just south of Lesotho. The town lies at the southern tip of the Drakensberg on the Langkloofspruit, a tributary of the Kraai River which, in turn is a tributary of the Orange River at an elevation of 1 790 meter (5 873 foot) above sealevel. Barkly East is characterized by rugged mountains and green valleys. Snow falls in winter, and the hamlet of Rhodes is 60 km or an hour's drive from Barkly East on the R396. Both are within the boundaries of the Senqu Local Municipality.

It has been one of the few areas in South Africa where winter sports are pursued, and in summer fly fishing for Rainbow trout and indigenous Smallmouth yellowfish, trail running, mountain biking, rock paintings by the San people, tennis and the magnificent scenery draw tourists to the district.

Xhosa and Afrikaans are spoken by most of the inhabitants, while English and some Sotho are also spoken. The primary economic base of the district is sheep-farming.

History

Like Barkly West, the town is named after Sir Henry Barkly,^[3][4] governor of the Cape Colony from 1870 to 1877. On 14 December 1874 the then-Governor, Sir Henry Barkly proclaimed that a town could split from Wodehouse.

Geography

Climate

Barkly East has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb, according to the Köppen climate classification), with mild summers and chilly, dry winters, with occasional snowfalls. It borders on a cold semi-arid climate (BSk). The average annual precipitation is 567 mm (22 in), with most rainfall occurring during summer.