科法国家野生动物保护区，亚利桑那州，美国 Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, USA (© Denis Tangney Jr/Getty Images)

科法国家野生动物保护区，亚利桑那州，美国 Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, USA (© Denis Tangney Jr/Getty Images)

广袤铺展的沙漠 Desert, drawn wide

科法国家野生动物保护区

横跨美国西南部亚利桑那州索诺兰沙漠的科法国家野生动物保护区，是一片由峭壁山峰、开阔天空与顽强生命共同构成的独特荒野。

“科法”（Kofa）这一名称源自附近群山中的一座历史金矿——“亚利桑那之王金矿”。这座矿场曾一度繁荣兴盛，其名称后来被简化并缩写，最终演变为如今简洁而易记的“科法”。

如今，科法国家野生动物保护区覆盖面积达665,400英亩，是一片广袤的开放沙漠。高大的巨柱仙人掌从岩石沟谷中拔地而起，幽静的峡谷中则隐藏着罕见的棕榈林。在这片辽阔的土地上，沙漠大角羊与沙漠陆龟、郊狼以及仙人掌鹪鹩等动物共同栖息，它们都适应了高温、干旱与广阔空间的生存环境。徒步路线和荒野小径带领人们穿越古老的火山岩地貌，欣赏雨后短暂绽放的花海，以及似乎没有尽头的地平线。当黄昏降临，光线变得柔和，沙漠逐渐降温，野生动物也开始活跃。这片偏远而少有人为开发的区域，以宁静、辽阔与原始荒野的魅力，回馈每一位探索者。

Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona

Stretching across the Sonoran Desert in southwestern Arizona, Kofa National Wildlife Refuge is a land of sharp peaks, wide skies, and surprising life. The refuge was established in 1939 to protect desert bighorn sheep, whose sure-footed silhouettes still define the rugged landscape.

The name 'Kofa' comes from the historic King of Arizona gold mine, once a booming operation in the nearby mountains—its title shortened into a single, memorable word.

Today, Kofa spans 665,400 acres of open desert, where saguaros rise from rocky washes and quiet canyons shelter rare palm groves. Bighorn sheep share this vast terrain with desert tortoises, coyotes, and cactus wrens—each adapted to heat, scarcity, and space. Hiking routes and backcountry tracks reveal ancient volcanic rock, sudden blooms after rain, and seemingly endless horizons. At dusk, light softens the desert, and wildlife stirs beneath the cooling air. Remote and largely undeveloped, Kofa rewards curiosity with silence, scale, and the thrill of true desert wilderness.