USFWS · Puerto Rico

Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge

The Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. The island of Desecheo is located 14 miles (23 km) west of Puerto Rico and is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the north and the Caribbean Sea on the south. The refuge encompasses the entire rugged island. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge316 acresUSFWSPR
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
TerritoryPuerto Rico
Size316 acres
FWS regionRegion 4
Center point18.38° N, 67.48° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 6)

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 Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge70°80°90°January: 2.47 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.67 inches of precipitationMarch: 3.25 inches of precipitationApril: 5.28 inches of precipitationMay: 9.82 inches of precipitationJune: 8.70 inches of precipitationJuly: 9.14 inches of precipitationAugust: 10.45 inches of precipitationSeptember: 9.27 inches of precipitationOctober: 8.91 inches of precipitationNovember: 5.10 inches of precipitationDecember: 2.44 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 75.1°F averageFebruary: 75.2°F averageMarch: 76.1°F averageApril: 77.4°F averageMay: 79.2°F averageJune: 80.4°F averageJuly: 80.7°F averageAugust: 80.9°F averageSeptember: 80.9°F averageOctober: 80.3°F averageNovember: 78.6°F averageDecember: 76.3°F average0 in5 in10 in15 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Coloso, 21 miles from the center point at 40 feet, station RQC00662801 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 77 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 · 2 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for hiking across the country

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

  • Walks of a Lifetime in America
    Manning, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacker's the national parks coast to coast
    Ted Alvarez, 2016
    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 Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge?

316 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Where is Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge?

Puerto Rico.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 18.384° N, 67.481° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Desecheo National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 2 listings within 15 miles, including Faro di Punta Higuero and Boiling Nuclear Superheater (bonus) Reactor Facility.

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.
  • Description: Desecheo 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.