Las Vegas National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico protects a striking meeting of landscapes, with the Rocky Mountains, Great Plains, and Chihuahuan Desert all shaping its plateau and foothill setting. This variety gives the refuge an unusual range of habitats and makes it especially important for birdlife. Along the Central Flyway, it provides resting, feeding, and wintering grounds for migrating geese, ducks, and cranes. River canyon walls fall away on three sides, and the name Las Vegas, Spanish for “the meadows,” reflects both the character of the land and the region’s cultural history.