Climate
Unpredictable. One constant is the perilously long frigid winters. An important note to the stability of this wilderness's survival is the constant thickness of its lake ice throughout the winters. Four to seven feet of lake ice is common from winter to winter with the number of subzero days that is days within a 365-day year the temperature dips below 0°F/-18°C averaging around 90°F 32°C. Snow can fall at any month of the year and is actually highest around the months of March and April. Minnesota's state record low of -60°F -51°C was officially reported in Tower, just south of the BWCA. However many feel that temperatures could be as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit colder within some of the top ridges of the Laurention Highlands which seemingly bisect the BWCA. Without any records taken from within the BWCA this has yet to be proven. Average winter snowfall in the area can be as high as 150 inches 381 cm atop the ridges of the Superior highlands off the shore of Lake Superior with about 75-90 inches 190-229 cm of snowfall being the norm throughout the rest of the BWCA. Summers are short and generally cool with offshore breezes from Lake Superior dramatically cooling areas near the shore. Temperatures can be as much as 25 degrees Fahrenheit cooler near the coast opposed to inland areas. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit 32°Cbut if they do, consider yourself blessed and swim at every opportunity. Summer weather lasts from mid June to mid August. Generally the first significant snowfall 2 in/5 cm or more occurs in early October. Lakes tend to freeze to a walkable thickness 4 in/10 cm by late October. The average yearly temperature ranges from 29-36 degrees Fahrenheit. One reason for this cold climate is that it is centered in the North American continent. The closest ocean inlet is actually the Hudson Bay which is frozen for 70 percent of the time. Due to thin acidic soil and the climate, agriculture would not only be impractical but nearly impossible. Forests cover over 99% of dry land and the rest of the region is composed of 40% water.
Flora and fauna
Roughly 85 percent of the BWCA is coniferous forest composed of white and red pine, spruce, jack pine, cedar, and hemlock. The other 15 percent of the area is deciduous trees such as paper birch, yellow birch, poplar, upland maple, and tammarack considered a conifer by some, but actually deciduous. Numerous wild flowers, mushrooms, and other fungi dot the forest floor.
Landscape
The BWCA is composed of over 1 million acres of untouched boreal forests strewn with dramatic cliffs, rock outcroppings, and unforgettable vistas. While the climate may be the harshest found within the U.S. outside of Alaska, the experience will be one that is simply impossible to have anywhere else on earth. Thousands upon thousands of miles of water routes weaving in and out of one of the most lightly populated places on earth are open for the taking. No motored vehicles or boats are allowed within the parameters of the wilderness area. It features the largest boreal forest east of the Rocky Mountains.