Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge lies in southwestern Elko County and adjacent northwestern White Pine County in the Great Basin of northeastern Nevada. Established in 1938 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it encompasses about 39,928 acres of wetlands in Ruby Valley, east of the Ruby Mountains and south of Harrison Pass, roughly 16 miles long and up to 3 miles wide at an elevation of about 6,000 feet. Once the bed of an ancient lake some 200 feet deep, it is now a network of spring-fed marshes and shallow ponds providing habitat for hundreds of species of native and migratory birds and mammals.