USFWS · New Mexico

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in two separate sections in central Chaves County, New Mexico, United States, a few miles northeast of the city of Roswell. Both sections lie on the banks of the Pecos River. The refuge was established in 1937 to provide habitat for migratory birds such as the sandhill crane and the snow goose, but it is also notable for rare native fish and the over 90 species of dragonflies and damselflies that inhabit the refuge.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by J Dykstra, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateNew Mexico
Size24,876 acres
FWS regionRegion 2
Center point33.59° N, 104.41° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 29)

Boundary map

3 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 Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 0.32 inches of precipitation, 1.2 inches of snowFebruary: 0.36 inches of precipitation, 0.4 inches of snowMarch: 0.59 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowApril: 0.62 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowMay: 1.49 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 1.44 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 2.33 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.70 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.84 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 1.52 inches of precipitation, 0.4 inches of snowNovember: 0.51 inches of precipitation, 0.6 inches of snowDecember: 0.54 inches of precipitation, 1.0 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 38.9°F averageFebruary: 43.7°F averageMarch: 51.4°F averageApril: 59.5°F averageMay: 68.3°F averageJune: 77.5°F averageJuly: 80.0°F averageAugust: 78.3°F averageSeptember: 70.8°F averageOctober: 59.3°F averageNovember: 47.0°F averageDecember: 38.7°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 in2.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Bitter Lakes Wl Refuge, 9 miles from the center point at 3,664 feet, station USC00290992 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 13 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 4 inches a year on the same inches scale.

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 · 12 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for New Mexico

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

  • Birding hot spots of Santa Fe, Taos, and northern New Mexico
    Judy Liddell, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Tent Camping: New Mexico
    Monte Parr, 2021
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Hiking New Mexico
    Laurence Parent, 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 Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

24,876 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge in?

New Mexico.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 33.592° N, 104.409° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 12 listings within 15 miles, including Garrett, Patrick Floyd, House and Urton Orchards.

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 (Q4919014), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Bitter Lake 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.