Pukaskwa National Park

national park, Ontario, Canada

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Article History

Pukaskwa National Park, national park, central Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern shore of Lake Superior. Established in 1971, it is the province’s largest national park, with an area of 725 square miles (1,878 square km). Pukaskwa includes areas of rugged Canadian Shield wilderness, as well as 50 miles (80 km) of the shoreline of Lake Superior, with rocky islets and coves and spectacular cliffs; there are many small lakes and streams within the park. Some excavations of prehistoric Indian remains have been made. Wildlife includes beaver, muskrat, timber wolf, black bear, marten, fisher, mink, lynx, white-tailed deer, moose, and woodland caribou. The park has vast forests of white and black spruce, jack pine, poplar, and birch.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy Tikkanen.