Imperial National Wildlife Refuge

Something of an anomaly, this 25,765-acre wildlife refuge, created when the Imperial Dam was built, is home both to marshy-river species and creatures that inhabit the adjacent Sonoran Desert—coyotes, bobcats, desert tortoises, and bighorn sheep. Mostly, though, it’s a major bird habitat, with waterfowl and shorebirds year-round and masses of migrating flocks during spring and fall.