Lake of the Woods, Lake between Ontario and Manitoba, Canada and Minnesota, United States.
Lake of the Woods is a freshwater lake that stretches across the border between Ontario, Manitoba, and Minnesota, containing more than fourteen thousand islands. The shoreline runs for thousands of kilometers with bays, narrow channels, and rocky points that weave between forested shores.
Glaciers carved the lake basin thousands of years ago during the last ice age. Later, voyageurs and trading companies used the waterways as a link between the Great Lakes and the western prairies.
The lake's name is a calque of the French lac des Bois, given for its wooded setting, though it may mistranslate the Anishinaabe name. Verendrye recorded in 1731 that it was called Lake Minitic, meaning "Islands in a River". Another Anishinaabe name, Babiikwaawangaa-zaagaʼigan, means "Lake with Uneven Sand", referring to the lake's dunes.
Most visitors reach the area through Kenora on the Canadian side or smaller towns in Minnesota. Boats and float planes provide access to the more remote islands, while shoreline communities offer fuel, food, and equipment.
The Northwest Angle, a part of Minnesota north of the 49th parallel, can be reached overland only by crossing through Canada. It resulted from the 1925 Lake of the Woods Convention and Protocol between Canada and the United States, which set the border.
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