Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge
Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge
PO Box 524
Newark, CA 94560
Phone:707-769-4200
Established: 1980.
Location:30 miles west of Stockton, California.
Activities:Docent-led tours on the second Saturday of the month.
Special Features:Nation's first national wildlife refuge established to protect endangered plants and insects. The site preserves two sand dune areas left after the Mohave Desert receded in prehistoric times. Isolation of this sand dune habitat resulted in the development of subspecies of plants and insects found nowhere else in the world.
Habitats: Two tracts of land totaling 55 acres of sand dunes along the San Joaquin River.
Access: Closed to the public.
Wild life: Critical habitat for Lange's metalmark butterfly (endangered) and two endangered flowers: Contra Costa wallflower and Antioch Dunes evening primrose.
See other parks in California.