wilderness area

noun

often capitalized W&A

: an often large tract of public land maintained essentially in its natural state and protected against introduction of intrusive artifacts (such as roads and buildings)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Wilderness Fly Fishing by Horseback Horseback ride your way to a high country fly-fishing trip in the third largest wilderness area in Colorado. —Roger Sands, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2023

Spend the night stargazing near the Boundary Waters, the largest wilderness area east of the Rockies, for a memorable slumber. —Karla Pope, Country Living, 5 Feb. 2023

The largest federal wilderness area outside of Alaska, the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness spreads across 2.3 million acres of secluded woods, water and snowcapped peaks. —Joe Yogerst, CNN, 20 Dec. 2022

The peak, at 5,642 feet is already within a 52-square-mile wilderness area overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. —Ken Ritter, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Nov. 2022

The Western Watersheds Project has objected to the idea of more cattle being introduced to the wilderness area. —Jake Frederico, The Arizona Republic, 14 Nov. 2022

The peak, at 5,642 feet (1,720 meters), is already within a 52-square-mile (135-square-kilometer) wilderness area overseen by the federal Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service. —Ken Ritter, ajc, 30 Nov. 2022

The wilderness area spans 60,000 acres and sits on the shoreline of Lake Superior. —Isabella Rosario, Outside Online, 30 Nov. 2022

In the second incident, officials learned a man who had been abandoned in the wilderness area on Wednesday also was needing help. —Karen Kucher, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above