USFWS · Arizona

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (CPNWR) is located in southwestern Arizona in the United States, along 56 miles (90 km) of the Mexico–United States border. It is bordered to the north and to the west by the Barry M. Goldwater Air Force Range, to the south by Mexico's El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve, to the northeast by the town of Ajo, and to the southeast by Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge856,684 acresUSFWSAZ
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by DiverDave, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateArizona
Size856,684 acres
FWS regionRegion 2
Center point32.27° N, 113.39° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 35)

Boundary map

1 outline

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 Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge50°60°70°80°90°100°January: 0.69 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.80 inches of precipitationMarch: 0.76 inches of precipitationApril: 0.17 inches of precipitationMay: 0.10 inches of precipitationJune: 0.08 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.63 inches of precipitationAugust: 1.43 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.81 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.44 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.45 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.62 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 56.2°F averageFebruary: 59.2°F averageMarch: 64.5°F averageApril: 70.7°F averageMay: 78.8°F averageJune: 87.5°F averageJuly: 91.7°F averageAugust: 91.1°F averageSeptember: 86.8°F averageOctober: 76.7°F averageNovember: 64.2°F averageDecember: 55.0°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Ajo, 32 miles from the center point at 1,751 feet, station USC00020080 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 7 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 Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas
National Monument · 12 mi
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
National Register listings within 15 miles · 5 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Arizona

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

  • Explore Tucson outdoors
    Karen Krebbs, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Camping Arizona
    Bruce Grubbs, 2021
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Tent Camping: Arizona
    Kirstin Olmon Phillips and Kelly Phillips, 2019
    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 Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge?

856,684 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge in?

Arizona.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 32.266° N, 113.392° W. Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is 12 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Which national parks are near Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge?

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (12 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 5 listings within 15 miles, including Craig, George C., House and Ferguson, George W., House.

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 (Q1024788), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Cabeza Prieta 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.