| Like Quetico Provinicial Park to the north, evidence of the last glaciation in the area sets the stage for the natural world of the BWCAW. The exposed Pre-Cambrian bedrock–smoothed, rounded, scratched, and cracked by the ice–provides the foundation for the wild plant and animal life of the wilderness, where wolves follow moose beneath towering pines.
The BWCAW forest–at the transition zone between mixed hardwoods of the Lake Superior region and the confers of the farther north–is composed of coniferous species like the white, red, and jack pine, the black spruce and deciduous trees like aspen and birch.
Large mammals living in the forest include the moose, white-tailed deer, and their prime predator, the timber wolf. The omnivorous black bear haunts the landscape and a campsite or two. Beavers paddle the ponds. Small mammals include the snowshoe hare, the eastern chipmunk and the red squirrel.
The area boasts 250 species of birds from the soaring eagles and ospreys to flitting warblers and flycatchers. The hoot of the Barred Owl and the call of the Common Loon provide the background music for the landscape.
|
