wilderness area

noun

1. a region whose natural growth is protected by legislation and whose recreational and industrial use is restricted.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wilderness area¹

An Americanism dating back to 1925–30

Example Sentences

The opening of the V-Road in the Escalante Canyons section of the monument has left the area — under consideration for higher protection as a wilderness area — marred by vandalism, trash and more human waste.

From Los Angeles Times

Baldy, 13 homes in Wrightwood and six cabins in the Angeles National Forest’s wilderness area.

From Los Angeles Times

P-22’s historic stint in Griffith Park, a wilderness area in Los Angeles, captured the hearts of residents and helped elevate the plight of pumas hemmed in by freeways and development.

From Los Angeles Times

The Owyhee Canyonlands, with stunning red gulches, winding rivers and a moon-like landscape where a volcano with a caldera once 600 times larger than Mount St. Helens erupted, stands as the largest unprotected wilderness area in the American West.

From Seattle Times

However, until now, studies assessing the beneficial effects of prescribed and low-intensity fires have been limited to relatively small areas, such as a single wilderness area or watershed.

From Science Daily