Marks of the last glaciers can be seen along cliffs and shores—the exposed Pre-Cambrian bedrock–smoothed, rounded, scratched, and cracked by the ice—provides a foundation for an abundance of wild plant and animal life.
The Quetico forest–at the transition zone between mixed hardwoods of the Lake Superior region and the conifers of the farther north–is composed of coniferous and deciduous species including white, red, and jack pine, black spruce, aspen and birch.
Large mammals living in the forest include moose, white-tailed deer, and their prime predator, the timber wolf. The omnivorous black bear is a familiar sight as are beavers, snowshoe hare, the eastern chipmunk and the red squirrel.
Over 250 species of birds live in the area or migrate through, from the soaring eagles and ospreys to flitting warblers and flycatchers. The hoot of the Barred Owl and the call of the Common Loon provide the background music for the landscape. Diverse varieties of fish include small-mouth bass, lake trout, walleye pike and northern pike, to name a few.