Boundary Waters
Encyclopedia
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
straddling the Canada–United States border between Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, in the region just west of Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
. This region is part of the Superior National Forest
Superior National Forest
Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the state of Minnesota between the Canada – United States border and the north shore of Lake Superior...
in northeastern Minnesota, and in Canada it includes La Verendrye
La Verendrye Provincial Park
La Verendrye Provincial Park is a waterway provincial park located in Ontario, Canada, on the border of Minnesota, USA. The park stretches from Quetico Provincial Park through Lake Saganaga, up the Pine River, across the Height of Land Portage, then down the Pigeon River to Pigeon River Provincial...
and Quetico
Quetico Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, renowned for its excellent canoeing and fishing. This park shares its southern border with Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is part of the larger Superior National Forest...
Provincial Parks in Ontario. Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park is a United States National Park in northern Minnesota near the town of International Falls. It was established in 1975. The park's name commemorates the voyageurs, French-Canadian fur traders who were the first European settlers to frequently travel through the area...
in Minnesota may also be considered part of the Boundary Waters. The name "Boundary Waters" is often used in the U.S. to refer specifically to the U.S. Wilderness Area protecting its southern extent, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service...
.
The Boundary Waters region is characterized by a vast network of waterways and bog
Bog
A bog, quagmire or mire is a wetland that accumulates acidic peat, a deposit of dead plant material—often mosses or, in Arctic climates, lichens....
s within a glacially
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
-carved landscape of Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
bedrock
Bedrock
In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...
covered in thin soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
s and boreal forests
Taiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
. The Boundary Waters is a popular destination for recreationalists
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
pursuing camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
, fishing
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, as well as for those simply looking for natural scenery and relaxation. The area is one of several distinct regions of Minnesota.
Communities
Several communities are located in the Boundary Waters area, including ElyEly, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,724 people, 1,912 households, and 916 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,369.5 people per square mile . There were 1,912 housing units at an average density of 703.2 per square mile...
, Cook
Cook, Minnesota
Cook is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 574 at the 2010 census.U.S. Highway 53 and Minnesota Highway 1 are two of the main arterial routes in the community....
, Grand Marais
Grand Marais, Minnesota
Grand Marais is a city in Cook County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,351 at the 2010 census. It is also the county seat of Cook County...
, Aurora
Aurora, Minnesota
Aurora is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2010 census.State Highway 135, County Highway 100, and County Highway 110 are three of the main arterial routes in the community.-Geography:...
and Tofte
Tofte Township, Minnesota
Tofte Township is one of the three townships of Cook County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 226 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 162.6 square miles , of which, 154.6 square miles of it is land and...
in Minnesota and Atikokan
Atikokan, Ontario
Atikokan is a township in the District of Rainy River in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. In 2006, the population was 3,293. The town is one of the main entry points into Quetico Provincial Park and promotes itself as the "Canoeing Capital of Canada"...
in Ontario.
Protected areas
Protected areas in the Boundary Waters region in Minnesota include Superior National ForestSuperior National Forest
Superior National Forest, part of the United States National Forest system, is located in the Arrowhead Region of the state of Minnesota between the Canada – United States border and the north shore of Lake Superior...
, Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , is a wilderness area within the Superior National Forest in northeastern Minnesota under the administration of the U.S. Forest Service...
, and Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park
Voyageurs National Park is a United States National Park in northern Minnesota near the town of International Falls. It was established in 1975. The park's name commemorates the voyageurs, French-Canadian fur traders who were the first European settlers to frequently travel through the area...
. Protected areas in Ontario include Quetico
Quetico Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, renowned for its excellent canoeing and fishing. This park shares its southern border with Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which is part of the larger Superior National Forest...
and La Verendrye
La Verendrye Provincial Park
La Verendrye Provincial Park is a waterway provincial park located in Ontario, Canada, on the border of Minnesota, USA. The park stretches from Quetico Provincial Park through Lake Saganaga, up the Pine River, across the Height of Land Portage, then down the Pigeon River to Pigeon River Provincial...
provincial parks.
See also
- International Boundary Waters TreatyInternational Boundary Waters TreatyThe Boundary Waters Treaty is the 1909 treaty between the United States and Canada providing mechanisms for resolving any dispute over any waters bordering the two countries...
- Sigurd F. OlsonSigurd F. OlsonSigurd F. Olson was an American author, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. For more than thirty years, he served as a wilderness guide in the lakes and forests of the Quetico-Superior country of northern Minnesota and northwestern Ontario...
- Calvin Rustrum