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Cibola National Wildlife Refuge

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge is located 20 miles south of Blythe, CA, in both Arizona and California along the floodplain of the lower Colorado River.

The refuge is noted for the number of waterfowl and sandhill cranes that winter within its boundary. An average of 16,000 Canada geese, 15,000 ducks and 1000 greater sandhill cranes (about half of the Lower Colorado River Valley Greater Sandhill Crane population) winter at Cibola National Wildlife Refuge.

The Refuge includes 12 miles of former river channels that are now considered backwaters and critical habitat for the endangered Yuma clapper rail and razorback sucker. Other such backwaters as Cibola Lake, Three Fingers Lake and Hartmine Marsh provide nesting, feeding and migrational habitat for the bald eagle, osprey, Southwestern willow flycatcher other neo-tropical migratory birds as well as waterfowl along this portion of the Sonoran Desert. The Refuge is also home to a large population of mule deer, coyotes, bobcats and occasionally mountain lions.

Summer temperatures often reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit and the average rainfall per year is only two inches and yet, because of the the river's presence, wildlife can survive such extreme environmental conditions.

Recreational activities include birding, wildlife watching, auto tours, boating, fishing, hiking, hunting, and a museum/visitor center.

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