The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to ...
of the United States in northern
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
near the
Oregon
Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...
border. It covers in the
Tule Lake
Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.
Geography
Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The elev ...
basin. It is part of the
Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and is a crucial part of the
Pacific Flyway corridor for migratory birds.
The refuge was established in 1928 by President
Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...
to preserve habitat for birds and other animals. It is a staging area for migrating waterfowl such as the
greater white-fronted goose
The greater white-fronted goose (''Anser albifrons'') is a species of goose related to the smaller lesser white-fronted goose (''A. erythropus''). It is named for the patch of white feathers bordering the base of its bill, in fact ''albifrons ...
,
snow goose
The snow goose (''Anser caerulescens'') is a species of goose native to North America. Both white and dark morphs exist, the latter often known as blue goose. Its name derives from the typically white plumage. The species was previously placed ...
,
Ross's goose
The Ross's goose (''Anser rossii'') is a white goose with black wingtips and a relatively short neck. It is the smallest of the three " white geese" that breed in North America. It is similar in appearance to a white-phase snow goose, but about 4 ...
, and
cackling goose
The cackling goose (''Branta hutchinsii'') is a species of goose found in North America.
Description
The black head and neck with white "chinstrap" distinguish this goose from all other geese except the larger Canada goose (''Branta canadensis' ...
.
[About the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.]
USFWS. The refuge's waterways are inhabited by
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
fish species such as the
Lost River sucker and
shortnose sucker.
[
Local habitat types include uplands vegetated with ]grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in law ...
es and shrubs such as sagebrush
Sagebrush is the common name of several woody and herbaceous species of plants in the genus '' Artemisia''. The best known sagebrush is the shrub '' Artemisia tridentata''. Sagebrushes are native to the North American west.
Following is an al ...
, and wetlands such as marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found a ...
es. The refuge also includes about 19,000 acres of cropland
Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...
leased to growers. Crops include potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Un ...
, onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the oni ...
, horseradish
Horseradish (''Armoracia rusticana'', syn. ''Cochlearia armoracia'') is a perennial plant of the family Brassicaceae (which also includes mustard, wasabi, broccoli, cabbage, and radish). It is a root vegetable, cultivated and used worldwide ...
, alfalfa, and cereal
A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more foo ...
s.[
Recreation opportunities and public services include wildlife viewing and ]photography
Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...
, education, and hunting.Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge: Visitor Activities.
USFWS.
Gallery
Discovery Marsh Tule Lake NWR.jpg, Sunrise on Discovery Marsh
Tule Lake Lower Marsh.jpg, Tule Lake lower marsh
TuleLakeNWR 8200t.jpg, Visitors' Center
Sage Thrasher.jpg, Sage thrasher on the refuge
See also
* List of National Wildlife Refuges
As of 2022, there are 588 National Wildlife Refuges in the United States, with the addition of the Green River National Wildlife Refuge. Refuges that have boundaries in multiple states are listed only in the state where the main visitor entrance is ...
* Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway
The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is a scenic highway and All-American Road in the U.S. states of California and Oregon. It is roughly long and travels north–south along the Cascade Range past numerous volcanoes. It is composed of two separate ...
References
External links
*
Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
USFWS.
National Wildlife Refuges in California
Protected areas of Modoc County, California
Protected areas of Siskiyou County, California
Modoc Plateau
Wetlands of California
Landforms of Siskiyou County, California
{{California-protected-area-stub