USFWS · California

Kern National Wildlife Refuge

Kern National Wildlife Refuge is an 11,249-acre (45.52 km2) protected area located in the southern portion of California's San Joaquin Valley, 20 miles (32 km) west of the city of Delano. Situated on the southern margin of what was once the largest freshwater wetland complex known as Tulare Lake in the western United States, Kern National Wildlife Refuge provides an optimum wintering habitat for migratory birds with an emphasis on waterfowl and water birds. The wetlands provide habitat for birds as part of the Pacific Flyway.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Kern National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Elaine with Grey Cats, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons.
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateCalifornia
Size11,229 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point35.75° N, 119.62° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 27)

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 Kern National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°90°January: 1.29 inches of precipitationFebruary: 1.16 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.37 inches of precipitationApril: 0.63 inches of precipitationMay: 0.27 inches of precipitationJune: 0.13 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.01 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.02 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.03 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.51 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.58 inches of precipitationDecember: 1.11 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 48.8°F averageFebruary: 53.5°F averageMarch: 58.8°F averageApril: 63.7°F averageMay: 71.6°F averageJune: 78.6°F averageJuly: 84.4°F averageAugust: 82.6°F averageSeptember: 77.6°F averageOctober: 67.8°F averageNovember: 56.1°F averageDecember: 48.2°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Wasco, 19 miles from the center point at 291 feet, station USC00049452 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

Guidebooks for California

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  • Moon Southern California Road Trips
    Ian Anderson, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Walkabout Northern California
    Tom Courtney, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Backpacking California
    Wilderness Press, 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 Kern National Wildlife Refuge?

11,229 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Kern National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Kern National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Kern National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 35.749° N, 119.617° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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 (Q14682945), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Kern 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.