This, the largest national park in Canada, is named for the herds of wood buffalo seen there by surveyors in 1916. They were termed "wood buffalo" because they inhabited the wooded parkland. They have a darker coat than that of the plains buffalo. In 1916 a federal survey party noticed tracks of wood buffalo and as a result of their report the park was established by order-in-council of December 18, 1922. When the herd of 6,000 plains buffalo was moved in from Wainwright between 1925 and 1927, they preferred the open plains near Lake Claire so the park boundaries were extended to include that area. The park has an area of 17,300 square miles (44,804 square kilometres) of which 3,625 (9388) are in the Northwest Territories. Holmgren, 1976.

Approximately 260 km north north-west of Fort McMurray and east north-east of High Level.