USFWS · Alabama

Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge

The Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge is a 3,689.63 acres (15 km2) National Wildlife Refuge located in central Alabama, along the Cahaba River downstream from Birmingham, Alabama. The refuge was established on September 25, 2002. Additional purchases were approved that will potentially increase the size of the refuge to 7,300 acres (29.5 km2). Additional negotiations propose an expansion to a potential 280,000 acres (1,100 km2), most of which currently belongs to private landowners. The facility is unstaffed, but is administered by the Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge in Anniston, Alabama.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge4,785 acresUSFWSAL
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateAlabama
Size4,785 acres
FWS regionRegion 4
Center point33.07° N, 87.06° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 13)

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 Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°90°January: 5.35 inches of precipitationFebruary: 5.76 inches of precipitationMarch: 5.40 inches of precipitationApril: 5.07 inches of precipitationMay: 4.15 inches of precipitationJune: 4.58 inches of precipitationJuly: 4.93 inches of precipitationAugust: 4.72 inches of precipitationSeptember: 3.57 inches of precipitationOctober: 3.03 inches of precipitationNovember: 4.56 inches of precipitationDecember: 5.07 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 45.7°F averageFebruary: 49.9°F averageMarch: 57.0°F averageApril: 64.0°F averageMay: 71.8°F averageJune: 78.5°F averageJuly: 81.3°F averageAugust: 80.9°F averageSeptember: 75.8°F averageOctober: 65.1°F averageNovember: 54.6°F averageDecember: 48.2°F average0 in2 in4 in6 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Alabaster Shelby Co AP, 18 miles from the center point at 565 feet, station USW00053864 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 56 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 · 9 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Alabama and the South

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

  • Paddling Alabama
    Joe Cuhaj and Curt Burdick, 2021
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Exploring Wild Alabama
    Kenneth M. Wills and Dr. L. J. Davenport, 2016
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Rail-trails Southeast
    Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, 2024
    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 Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge?

4,785 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge in?

Alabama.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 33.074° N, 87.060° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 9 listings within 15 miles, including Blocton Italian Catholic Cemetery and Montebrier.

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 (Q5017386), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Cahaba River 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.