Grulla National Wildlife Refuge is located primarily in eastern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

in Roosevelt County, southwest of the intersection of State Highway 88 and the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

- New Mexico border about 25 miles southeast of

Portales, New Mexico Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 12,280 at the 2010 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis, and Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the ...

and southeast of the tiny community of Arch. A very small part of the refuge extends eastward into western

Bailey County, Texas Bailey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in West Texas and its county seat is Muleshoe. As of the 2020 census, its population was 6,904. History In 1876, the Texas Legislature established Bailey County from portio ...

. The central focal point of the Grulla National Wildlife Refuge is an ephemeral salt lake or saline playa – a shallow basin that collects runoff from the surrounding drainage area during heavy downpours but then often dries completely due to evaporation. This

playa lake Playa (plural playas) may refer to: Landforms * Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake * Dry lake, often called a ''playa'' in the so ...

has been known by various names. Current

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

topographic maps and most commercially available maps of this region refer to this saline playa simply as "Salt Lake". Back in the early 1880s, this playa was part of the DZ Ranch, and those familiar with the ranch often favor the name "DZ Lake". The lake is also frequently called "Arch Lake" after the nearby community of Arch, New Mexico, located around 6 km to the northwest. The word ''grulla'' is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for crane. When wet, the playa lake provides habitat to

sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...

s and the grasslands within the refuge provide habitat to other birds such as

ring-necked pheasant The common pheasant (''Phasianus colchicus'') is a bird in the pheasant family (Phasianidae). The genus name comes from Latin ''phasianus'', "pheasant". The species name ''colchicus'' is Latin for "of Colchis" (modern day Georgia), a country on ...

lesser prairie chicken The lesser prairie chicken (''Tympanuchus pallidicinctus'') is a species in the grouse family. Description It is a medium to large bird, striped white and brown, slightly smaller and paler than its near relative the greater prairie chicken (''T. ...

s, and

scaled quail The scaled quail (''Callipepla squamata''), also commonly called blue quail or cottontop, is a species of the New World quail family. It is a bluish gray bird found in the arid regions of the Southwestern United States to Central Mexico. This sp ...

s. The refuge has no facilities other than a parking lot and trails and is administered by Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. It was often used in the mid 2000s as a training site for the Eastern New Mexico University cross country teams. File:Arch Lake New Mexico 2009.jpg, Saline playa within Grulla National Wildlife Refuge File:Sandhill Crane Bailey County Texas 2009.jpg,

Sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...

s near Grulla National Wildlife Refuge

References

External links

Grulla NWR Official SitePhotos of the Llano Estacado including Eastern New Mexico
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in New Mexico National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Protected areas of Bailey County, Texas Protected areas of Roosevelt County, New Mexico Protected areas established in 1969 Saline lakes of the United States Lakes of New Mexico Lakes of Texas Landforms of Bailey County, Texas Bodies of water of Roosevelt County, New Mexico 1969 establishments in New Mexico 1969 establishments in Texas

See also

References

External links