USFWS · Montana

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a 31,533-acre (12,761 ha) National Wildlife Refuge located in the northeastern region of the U.S. state of Montana. The refuge is part of the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge Complex which also includes the Northeast Montana Wetland Management District (WMD) and Lamesteer National Wildlife Refuge. Medicine Lake is from the Assiniboine description of the lake, "Bda wauka". The refuge was established in 1935 to protect habitat for various wildlife and especially migratory birds. The refuge is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior. In 1980, the Medicine Lake Site was designated as a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateMontana
Size31,484 acres
FWS regionRegion 6
Center point48.47° N, 104.38° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 13)

Boundary map

2 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 Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge10°20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 0.33 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.16 inches of precipitationMarch: 0.42 inches of precipitationApril: 0.93 inches of precipitationMay: 2.39 inches of precipitationJune: 2.90 inches of precipitationJuly: 2.65 inches of precipitationAugust: 1.54 inches of precipitationSeptember: 1.17 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.89 inches of precipitationNovember: 0.36 inches of precipitationDecember: 0.32 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 11.0°F averageFebruary: 15.1°F averageMarch: 27.6°F averageApril: 42.1°F averageMay: 53.9°F averageJune: 62.8°F averageJuly: 69.1°F averageAugust: 67.8°F averageSeptember: 57.1°F averageOctober: 42.3°F averageNovember: 27.0°F averageDecember: 16.1°F average0 in1 in2 in3 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Medicine Lake 3 SE, 3 miles from the center point at 1,942 feet, station USC00245572 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 14 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 Montana

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

  • Camping Montana
    Kenneth L. Graham, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Backpacking Trips in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado
    Mike White and Douglas Lorain, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Moon Montana
    Carter G. Walker, 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 Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

31,484 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in?

Montana.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 48.468° N, 104.382° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 2 listings within 15 miles, including Larsen, Aage and Kristine, Homestead and Thornwood School.

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: Medicine Lake 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.