USFWS · Minnesota

Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge

Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was created on October 12, 2004, the 545th National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Its creation was the result of cooperation between at least 30 agencies or governmental entities. The creation of the refuge was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, and the initial endowment of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) of land was donated by the Conservancy. In light of its planned final size of 37,756 acres (153 km2), it is described by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as "the largest tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration project in U.S. history".

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge23,258 acresUSFWSMN
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by USFWSmidwest, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateMinnesota
Size23,258 acres
FWS regionRegion 3
Center point47.71° N, 96.29° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 17)

Boundary map

7 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 Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge0°10°20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.60 inches of precipitation, 10.1 inches of snowFebruary: 0.57 inches of precipitation, 8.6 inches of snowMarch: 0.89 inches of precipitation, 7.8 inches of snowApril: 1.32 inches of precipitation, 3.8 inches of snowMay: 2.85 inches of precipitation, 0.1 inches of snowJune: 4.49 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 3.58 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.50 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 2.81 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 2.09 inches of precipitation, 1.5 inches of snowNovember: 0.85 inches of precipitation, 5.6 inches of snowDecember: 0.78 inches of precipitation, 12.4 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 6.0°F averageFebruary: 10.0°F averageMarch: 24.4°F averageApril: 40.6°F averageMay: 54.3°F averageJune: 64.6°F averageJuly: 68.7°F averageAugust: 67.0°F averageSeptember: 57.9°F averageOctober: 43.5°F averageNovember: 27.2°F averageDecember: 13.5°F average0 in5 in10 in15 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Red Lake Falls, 12 miles from the center point at 1,038 feet, station USC00216787 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 24 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 50 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 · 5 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for Minnesota

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

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

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

23,258 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge in?

Minnesota.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 47.707° N, 96.290° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 5 listings within 15 miles, including Church of St. Peter--Catholic and Red Lake County Courthouse.

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 (Q5566102), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Glacial Ridge 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.