Wilderness Area
Wilderness Area, a tract of land existing in its natural state and designated by Congress to be preserved in that condition. The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System and placed in it about 9,100,000 acres (3,680,000 hectares) of largely untouched land in the national forests, parks, and wildlife refuges. Additional federally owned lands have since been included. To preserve natural conditions in wilderness areas, settlement is barred, as are commercial enterprises, motorized travel, and any other activity that might mar the lands' primeval qualities.