USFWS · Texas

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 115,324-acre (466.7 km2) protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun Counties. It is situated on the southwest side of the San Antonio Bay, formed by the mouth of the Guadalupe River. It also includes nearly the entirety of Matagorda Island, a 38-mile barrier island. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order 7784 on 31 December 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1940 changing the name to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge116,612 acresUSFWSTX
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Larry D. Moore, licensed CC BY 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateTexas
Size116,612 acres
FWS regionRegion 2
Center point28.22° N, 96.87° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 14)

Boundary map

4 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge50°60°70°80°90°January: 2.88 inches of precipitationFebruary: 1.78 inches of precipitationMarch: 2.04 inches of precipitationApril: 2.38 inches of precipitationMay: 3.31 inches of precipitationJune: 6.16 inches of precipitationJuly: 2.88 inches of precipitationAugust: 3.56 inches of precipitationSeptember: 4.50 inches of precipitationOctober: 4.68 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.05 inches of precipitationDecember: 2.38 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 53.8°F averageFebruary: 58.4°F averageMarch: 64.6°F averageApril: 70.3°F averageMay: 76.8°F averageJune: 81.5°F averageJuly: 82.6°F averageAugust: 82.8°F averageSeptember: 80.0°F averageOctober: 72.2°F averageNovember: 63.6°F averageDecember: 56.3°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Port Aransas 32 NNE, 6 miles from the center point at 15 feet, station USW00023906 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 40 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 8 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Texas

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Parking Lot Birding
    Jennifer L. Bristol, 2025
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Birds and other wildlife of south central Texas
    Edward A. Kutac, 2014
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Tent Camping: Texas
    Wendel Withrow, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Aransas National Wildlife Refuge?

116,612 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Aransas National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in?

Texas.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 28.221° N, 96.872° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Aransas National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 8 listings within 15 miles, including Matagorda Island Lighthouse and La Salle Monument.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q1773388), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.