Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge

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Buffalo Lake
Blind for wildlife viewing at Buffalo Lake NWR

Location	Randall County, Texas, United States
Nearest city	Canyon, Texas
Coordinates	34°53′11″N 102°07′11″W / 34.88639°N 102.11972°W / 34.88639; -102.11972
Area	31 km² (12 sq mi)
Elevation	1,140 m (3,740 ft)
Established	National Wildlife Refuge
Operator	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in Randall County in the Texas Panhandle. Its shortgrass prairies spill into marshes, woodlands, riparian habitat, croplands, and water-carved canyon walls that together form 7,664 acres (31.02 km²) of homes for migratory and year-round wildlife.^[1] The area forms a habitat for black-tailed prairie dogs and burrowing owls, among many other species.^[2] Some 175 acres (0.71 km²) of the refuge carries the designation of National Natural Landmark.^[3]

Buffalo Lake NWR lies within a canyon carved by Tierra Blanca Creek, an ephemeral stream that stretches across northern portions of the Llano Estacado. The discharge of this stream is highly variable, and it is not unusual for the creek to dry out completely. At the same time, as the sole creek bed within a large drainage basin in a region prone to frequent and intense thunderstorms, it often suffers the destructive effects of flash floods. A large flood control structure, called Umbarger Dam, was constructed to impound the waters of Tierra Blanca Creek and form Buffalo Lake within the boundaries of the wildlife refuge. The ponded waters of this shallow lake can provide key roosting habitat for migrating birds.

References

[edit]

^ "Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
^ USFWS. "Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 29 November 2009.
^ "National Natural Landmarks - National Natural Landmarks (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2019-03-30. Year designated: 1980

External links

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Media related to Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge at Wikimedia Commons
Official website
Public domain photos of West Texas and Llano Estacado

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protected areas of Texas

Federal

National Parks	Big Bend Guadalupe Mountains
National monuments and memorials	Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Castner Range National Monument Chamizal National Memorial Military Working Dog Teams National Monument Waco Mammoth National Monument
National Historical Parks and Historic Sites	Fort Davis NHS Lyndon B. Johnson NHP Palo Alto Battlefield NHP San Antonio Missions NHP
National Historic Trails	El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
National Recreation Areas	Amistad Lake Meredith
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Rio Grande
National Wildlife Refuges	Anahuac Aransas Attwater Prairie Chicken Balcones Canyonlands Big Boggy Brazoria Buffalo Lake Caddo Lake Grulla Hagerman Laguna Atascosa Little Sandy Lower Rio Grande Valley McFaddin Muleshoe Neches River San Bernard Santa Ana Texas Point Trinity River
National Forests	Angelina Davy Crockett Sabine Sam Houston
National Grasslands	Caddo Lyndon B. Johnson McClellan Creek Rita Blanca
Other Protected Areas	Big Thicket National Preserve Padre Island National Seashore

State

State Parks and Natural Areas	Abilene Albert and Bessie Kronkosky State Natural Area Atlanta Balmorhea Barton Warnock Visitor Center Bastrop Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley Big Bend Ranch Big Spring Blanco Bonham Brazos Bend Buescher Caddo Lake Caprock Canyons Cedar Hill Chinati Mountains State Natural Area Choke Canyon Cleburne Colorado Bend Cooper Lake Copper Breaks Daingerfield Davis Hill Davis Mountains Devils River State Natural Area Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area Dinosaur Valley Eisenhower Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Estero Llano Grande Fairfield Lake Falcon Fort Boggy Fort Parker State Park Fort Richardson State Park Franklin Mountains Galveston Island Garner Goliad Goose Island Government Canyon State Natural Area Guadalupe River Hill Country State Natural Area Honey Creek State Natural Area Huntsville Indian Lodge Inks Lake Kickapoo Cavern Lake Arrowhead Lake Bob Sandlin Lake Brownwood Lake Casa Blanca International Lake Colorado City Lake Corpus Christi Lake Livingston Lake Mineral Wells Lake Somerville Lake Tawakoni Lake Whitney Lockhart Longhorn Cavern Lost Maples State Natural Area Martin Creek Lake Martin Dies Jr. Matagorda Island McKinney Falls McKinney Roughs Meridian Mission Tejas Monahans Sandhills Mother Neff State Park Mustang Island Old Tunnel Palmetto Palo Duro Canyon Palo Pinto Mountains Pedernales Falls Possum Kingdom Purtis Creek Ray Roberts Lake Resaca de la Palma San Angelo Sea Rim Sheldon Lake South Llano River Stephen F. Austin Tyler Village Creek Walter Umphrey Wyler Aerial Tramway
State Historic Sites	Acton Admiral Nimitz Barrington Living History Farm at Washington-on-the-Brazos Battleship TEXAS Caddo Mounds Casa Navarro Confederate Reunion Grounds Eisenhower Birthplace Fanthorp Inn Fannin Battleground Fort Griffin Fort Lancaster Fort Leaton Fort McKavett Fort Richardson State Park Fulton Mansion Goliad Hueco Tanks Kreische Brewery Landmark Inn Levi Jordan Plantation Lipantitlan Lyndon B. Johnson Magoffin Homestead Mission Espiritu Santo Mission Dolores Mission Rosario Monument Hill Penn Farm Point Isabel Lighthouse Sabine Pass Battleground Sam Bell Maxey House Samuel T. Rayburn House San Felipe San Jacinto Battleground Sauer-Beckmann Farm Seminole Canyon Starr Family Home Varner–Hogg Plantation Washington-on-the-Brazos Zaragoza Birthplace
State Forests and Arboretums	E.O. Siecke I.D. Fairchild John Henry Kirby Masterson W. Goodrich Jones Ruth Bowling Nichols Arboretum Olive Scott Petty Arboretum
State Wildlife Trails	Great Texas Coastal Heart of Texas Panhandle Plains Prairies and Pineywoods