Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA or BWCAW) is a region of the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota (USA) and is under the administration of the United States Forest Service. It was designated as a unit of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act of 1964. The BWCA contains hundreds of beautiful lakes in near pristine condition. As of 1999, about 75% of the BWCA's water acreage was open only to non-motorized boat travel.
Within the BWCA are hundreds of prehistoric pictographs existing on rock ledges.
The BWCA shares its northern border with both Canada and another canoe-only area, the Quetico.
