Wood Buffalo National Park, 17,577 sq mi (45,525 sq km), in NE Alta., Canada, extending into the Northwest Territories; est. 1922 to protect the only remaining herd of wood bison. It lies between Lake Athabasca and Great Slave Lake and is crossed by the Peace River. A vast, unfenced region of forests, plains, and lakes, it is the largest game preserve in North America, containing bison, bear, beaver, caribou, moose, and varied waterfowl, including whooping cranes, which nest there. Neighboring provincial wildland parks in Alberta protect an additional contiguous 4,250 sq mi (11,000 sq km).
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