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Arizona
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State of Arizona Parks

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USA Parks
Arizona
West Coast Region
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge
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Kofa National Wildlife Refuge © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona /USFWS.
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge © Spirituscanis / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Sonoran Desert in Bloom in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Arizona
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge © Spirituscanis / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Prickly pear blossoms in the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Arizona
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Arizonas Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is a haven for rare desert wildlife and plants.Photo Kelly Lockman/USFWS
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
leaf-nosed bat survey, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, 2011Photo Molly McCarter, USFWS2011 Wilderness Fellow
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KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
KOFA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE
9300 E. 28th Street
Yuma, Arizona   85364

Phone: 928-783-7861
Email: park email button icon
Kofa National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1939. The refuge encompasses 665,400 acres of pristine desert that is home to the desert bighorn sheep and the California fan palm, the only native palm in Arizona.

Bighorn sheep are found chiefly in the two mountain ranges that dominate the refuge landscape - the Kofa and Castle Dom Mountains. Although these mountains are not especially high, they are extremely rugged and rise sharply from the surrounding desert plains, providing excellent bighorn sheep habitat. A wide variety of plant life is found throughout the refuge.

Nature of the Area
Notable wildlife species found in the area include the white-winged dove, desert tortoise, and desert kit fox. Approximately 800 to 1,000 bighorn sheep now live in the refuge and, in recent years, this herd has provided animals for transplanting throughout Arizona and neighboring states.

Birds that are likely to be seen at Kofa include American kestrel, white-winged dove, northern flicker, Say's phoebe, cactus wren, phainopepla, and orange-crowned warbler.

The Kofa Mountain barberry (a rare plant found only in southwest Arizona) occurs on the refuge.

History of the Area
In the early part of this century, a number of mines were established in the mountainous areas of the refuge. One of the most notable was the King of Arizona mine. It gave the Kofa Mountains their name-- "Kofa" being contracted from King of Arizona.

Kofa was included in the desert military training exercises conducted by Gerneal Patton during World War II. Unexploded ordinance may be encountered during cross-country hiking. Picking up items that appear to be military hardware could be hazardous to your health.


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Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is


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Directions
From I-8 in California: take the Winterhaven Drive and Fourth Avenue Exit south into Yuma, Arizona. The refuge office is located at the first intersection.

Directions to the refuge proper: From Yuma, take Highway 95 north towards Quartzsite, Arizona, to refuge entrance signs.

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Arizona
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State of Arizona Parks

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