It separates a small land area of Minnesota from the rest of the United States. The Northwest Angle and the town of Angle Inlet can only be reached from the rest of Minnesota by crossing the lake or by traveling through Canada. The Northwest Angle is the northernmost part of the continental United States.

Lake of the Woods is fed by the Rainy River, Shoal Lake, Kakagi Lake, and other smaller rivers. The lake drains into the Winnipeg River and then into Lake Winnipeg. Ultimately, its outflow goes through the Nelson River to Hudson Bay.

Lake of the Woods is over seventy miles long and wide, and contains over 14,552 islands and 65,000 miles (105,000 km) of shoreline, which would amount to the longest coastline of any Canadian lake, except that the lake is not entirely within Canada.
Lake of the Woods from space, May 1998

The lake's islands provide nesting habitat for the piping plover and large numbers of American white pelicans. There are also several hundred nesting pairs of bald eagles in this area.

Wikipedia articles for Lake of the Woods

• Lake of the Woods
• Garden Island State Recreation Area
• Garden Island State Recreation Area