Barnaul is a city and the administrative center of Altai Krai, Russia, located along the Ob River in the West Siberian Plain.
At the end of 2014, the city had a population of around 700,000 people. The population of the Barnaul metropolitan area is estimated to be over 1.14 million.
Barnaul is the closest major city to the Altai Mountains to the south. The city is also situated relatively close to the border with the countries of Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China.
Barnaul is the administrative center of the krai.
The continental climate of Barnaul is defined by its geographical position at the southern end of the Siberian steppe: it is subject to long winters, with an average of -15.5 C (4.1 F) in January, but also enjoys a short warm season in the summer with an average temperature of +19.9 C (67.8 F) in July. Temperatures can vary in the extreme, from below -45 C (-49 F) in the winter to above +35 C (95 F) in the summer.
The climate is relatively dry. The average precipitation in the area is 433 millimeters (17.0 in) per year, 75% of which occurs during the region`s warmer season.