Ir al contenido

Wild Atlas Guide

About
Account
Change Password
Forgot Password?
Get Started
HOME
Login
Privacy
Profile
Register
Reset Password
Terms of use
Users
Users List Item
World atlas

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife Sanctuary · United States

No ratings yet

— tap to pick a rating

See all reviews →

0 followers

Photo © XeresNelro

Photo © XeresNelro — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

ABOUT

Where the Colorado River carves through the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona, Imperial National Wildlife Sanctuary unfolds across a landscape shaped by water and aridity. The refuge sprawls across nearly 30,000 acres of riverside terrain, dominated by the river itself as it meanders through a stark desert environment classified by a hot arid climate with minimal precipitation. The habitat here consists primarily of riparian woodland and scrubland, where cottonwoods and willows cluster along the waterway, their roots drawing sustenance from the river's flow while the surrounding terrain remains sparse and sun-scorched. This concentration of water in an otherwise dry expanse creates an ecological oasis of remarkable intensity, where the tension between aquatic abundance and desert scarcity defines every ecological relationship. Raptors hunt above the open water and scrub, wading birds probe the shallows and mudflats, waterfowl congregate on the river itself, and small mammals and reptiles shelter within the riverside vegetation, all dependent on the lifeline that the Colorado River provides.

Wildlife photographers and birders converge on Imperial during the cooler months when migratory species swell the resident populations, transforming the refuge into a spectacle of activity along the water's edge. The river itself becomes a natural viewing corridor, allowing photographers to position themselves for unobstructed observation of birds coming to drink and feed, while the low-angle light of autumn and winter months bathes the riparian zone in golden tones ideal for the serious naturalist's lens. Access to the refuge is straightforward from nearby communities, and the linear geography of the river creates natural vantage points for patient observers. This is a place where the drama of desert ecology becomes vivid and immediate, where the survival strategies of creatures adapted to extreme heat and scarcity play out against the single thread of flowing water that makes their existence possible.

Website fws.gov/refuge/imperial

WILDLIFE

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Bucephala albeola

Oxyura jamaicensis

Callipepla gambelii

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Anna's Hummingbird

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Fulica americana

Black-necked Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

Aechmophorus occidentalis

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

Charadrius vociferus

Gallinago delicata

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Hydroprogne caspia

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

White-faced Ibis

Butorides virescens

Great Blue Heron

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Pandion haliaetus

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Gila Woodpecker

Melanerpes uropygialis

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Dryobates scalaris

Sayornis nigricans

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

Vermilion Flycatcher

Pyrocephalus rubinus

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens

Loggerhead Shrike

Lanius ludovicianus

Phainopepla nitens

Tachycineta bicolor

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Salpinctes obsoletus

Cistothorus palustris

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Polioptila melanura

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

Haemorhous mexicanus

Lapland Longspur

Calcarius lapponicus

Black-throated Sparrow

Amphispiza bilineata

Melozone aberti

Brown-headed Cowbird

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Setophaga coronata

Branta canadensis

Anser caerulescens

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Cygnus columbianus

Spatula cyanoptera

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Mareca strepera

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail

Aythya valisineria

Aythya americana

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Common Poorwill

Phalaenoptilus nuttallii

White-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis

Costa's Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird

Selasphorus calliope

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianus

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Zenaida macroura

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Rallus obsoletus

Rallus limicola

Porzana carolina

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Podiceps auritus

Aechmophorus clarkii

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Pluvialis squatarola

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Long-billed Curlew

Numenius americanus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Tringa semipalmata

Calidris alpina

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Western Sandpiper

Gull-billed Tern

Gelochelidon nilotica

Chlidonias niger

Sterna forsteri

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Leucophaeus atricilla

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

California Gull

Larus californicus

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Neotropic Cormorant

Nannopterum brasilianum

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Pelecanus occidentalis

White-tailed Kite

Elanus leucurus

Aquila chrysaetos

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Parabuteo unicinctus

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Ferruginous Hawk

American Barn Owl

Athene cunicularia

Western Screech Owl

Megascops kennicottii

Red-naped Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Falco columbarius

Falco mexicanus

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Sayornis phoebe

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Hammond's Flycatcher

Empidonax hammondii

American Grey Flycatcher

Empidonax wrightii

Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalis

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Woodhouse's Scrub Jay

Aphelocoma woodhouseii

Bombycilla cedrorum

Auriparus flaviceps

Eremophila alpestris

Riparia riparia

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

Hirundo rustica

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

Catherpes mexicanus

Thryomanes bewickii

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Oreoscoptes montanus

Crissal Thrasher

Toxostoma crissale

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Catharus guttatus

Turdus migratorius

Passer domesticus

Anthus rubescens

Lawrence's Goldfinch

Spinus lawrencei

Lesser Goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

Chondestes grammacus

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Brewer's Sparrow

Spizella breweri

Dark-eyed Junco

White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla

Sagebrush Sparrow

Artemisiospiza nevadensis

Artemisiospiza belli

Pooecetes gramineus

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Melospiza melodia

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Melospiza georgiana

Green-tailed Towhee

Pipilo chlorurus

Pipilo maculatus

Yellow-breasted Chat

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Icterus cucullatus

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalus

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Leiothlypis luciae

Nashville Warbler

Leiothlypis ruficapilla

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Black-throated Grey Warbler

Setophaga nigrescens

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Wilson's Warbler

Cardellina pusilla

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Passerina caerulea

Passerina amoena

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Eastern Warbling Vireo

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Harris's Antelope Squirrel

Ammospermophilus harrisii

North American Beaver

Castor canadensis

Northern Raccoon

View Complete List (220 more) →

COMMUNITY

0 Community observations

No community observations yet — be the first to log a sighting here.

Natural environment

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

Dry conditions dominate, with strong contrasts between day and night.

Usual climateHot desertLowland

Average annual temperature 24.8 °C Average of the twelve monthly means

Average elevation 103 m Lowland

Climate pattern Hot desert Main environment around this hotspot

A year of temperatures

Monthly means, with the coldest and warmest highlighted

Monthly minimum · December 14.0 °C Monthly maximum · July 35.4 °C

Global temperature scale

−40°−20°0°20°40°

Terrain and elevation

103 m · Lowland

Average terrain elevation estimate across the hotspot; the figure does not represent its highest summits.

Elevation scale

103 m

02,0004,0006,0008,000m

Lowland

Long-term climate averages, not live weather.

Wild Atlas Guide

About
Contact
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Send Feedback

Community

Submit a Hotspot
Operators Directory
Add your business

© 2026 Wild Atlas Guide — Content & data compilation protected.

Privacy Policy · Cookie settings · Copyright & data use

Contact Us

We'd love to hear from you. We'll reply as soon as possible.

Name

Email

Message

Send Feedback

Found an error? Have a suggestion? We read every message.

Type

Page URL (optional)

Description

Your email (optional — if you want us to follow up)

Submit a hotspot Add your business

MENU

Username or email Password

or

Enter your username or email and we'll send you a link to reset your password.

Username or email

Username Email Confirm email I am a… Language Password

I accept the Terms of Use and confirm that I have read the Privacy Policy. I want to receive occasional Wild Atlas Guide news and offers by email. I can unsubscribe at any time.

or

Scroll al inicio

Discover

Book

We use cookies to measure traffic and improve WildAtlas. You decide. Privacy policy