USFWS · California

Modoc National Wildlife Refuge

Modoc National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in northeastern California. It is next to the South Fork of the Pit River in Modoc County, southeast of Alturas.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge7,169 acresUSFWSCA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Modoc National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by USFWS, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateCalifornia
Size7,169 acres
FWS regionRegion 8
Center point41.46° N, 120.52° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 30)

Boundary map

3 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 Modoc National Wildlife Refuge30°40°50°60°70°January: 1.49 inches of precipitationFebruary: 0.98 inches of precipitationMarch: 1.22 inches of precipitationApril: 1.21 inches of precipitationMay: 1.39 inches of precipitationJune: 0.71 inches of precipitationJuly: 0.23 inches of precipitationAugust: 0.30 inches of precipitationSeptember: 0.37 inches of precipitationOctober: 0.94 inches of precipitationNovember: 1.39 inches of precipitationDecember: 1.51 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 32.7°F averageFebruary: 35.2°F averageMarch: 40.2°F averageApril: 45.0°F averageMay: 53.5°F averageJune: 60.6°F averageJuly: 68.0°F averageAugust: 66.3°F averageSeptember: 59.6°F averageOctober: 48.8°F averageNovember: 38.5°F averageDecember: 32.0°F average0 in0.5 in1 in1.5 in2 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Alturas, 2 miles from the center point at 4,378 feet, station USC00040161 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 · 4 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 Modoc National Wildlife Refuge?

7,169 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Modoc National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Modoc National Wildlife Refuge in?

California.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Modoc National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 41.458° N, 120.523° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Modoc National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 4 listings within 15 miles, including Sacred Heart Catholic Church and Nco Railway Depot.

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 (Q13855534), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Modoc 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.