During the past decade, the study of TeV gamma rays -- the highest energy electromagnetic radiation yet observed -- has opened up a new window on the Universe. A new generation of powerful detectors has led to the discovery of more than 150 Galactic and extragalactic sources of TeV gamma rays. These measurements provide evidence for cosmic-ray acceleration, enable studies of cosmological radiation fields, and allow searches for dark matter annihilation. Unfortunately, nearly all measurements in this energy band have been pointed observations and are affected by survey bias. The High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, an air shower array recently completed in Sierra Negra, Mexico, is designed to provide an unbiased survey of TeV gamma rays from the northern sky. The HAWC detector has an instantaneous field of view of 2 sr, operates with >95% uptime, and observes two-thirds of the sky each day. HAWC is built to fill in gaps in TeV measurements that are difficult to accomplish with pointed observations, including measurements of extended Galactic sources, diffuse gamma-ray emission, and monitoring of transients such as gamma-ray bursts. I will review the current status of HAWC, present first results from the observatory, and discuss prospects for measurements with HAWC during the next 5 years.
