USFWS · California

Merced National Wildlife Refuge

The Merced National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 10,262 acres (41.53 km2) of wetlands, native grasslands, vernal pools, and riparian areas in California. It was established in 1951 under the Lea Act to attract wintering waterfowl from adjacent farmland where their foraging was causing crop damage. In the last few decades, changes in agricultural practices and refuge management have reduced these wildlife/crop issues.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge3,822 acresUSFWSCA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Lee Eastman of Pacific Southwest Region U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from Sacramento, US, licensed CC BY 2.0, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateCalifornia
Size3,822 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point37.18° N, 120.63° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 26)

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 Merced National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°January: 2.37 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.20 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.82 inches of precipitationApril: 1.12 inches of precipitationMay: 0.55 inches of precipitationJune: 0.12 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.00 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.00 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.05 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.64 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.02 inches of precipitationDecember: 1.91 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 46.3°F averageFebruary: 50.5°F averageMarch: 55.2°F averageApril: 59.7°F averageMay: 67.4°F averageJune: 74.2°F averageJuly: 79.0°F averageAugust: 77.9°F averageSeptember: 73.5°F averageOctober: 64.3°F averageNovember: 53.5°F averageDecember: 46.0°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 in2.5 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Merced Muni AP, 10 miles from the center point at 152 feet, station USW00023257 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 12 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 · 14 in all · Register Atlas

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

Guidebooks for California

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

  • 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 Merced National Wildlife Refuge?

3,822 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Merced National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Merced National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Merced National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 37.179° N, 120.633° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Merced National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 14 listings within 15 miles, including Buhach Grammar School and Tioga Hotel.

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 (Q6818075), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Merced 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.