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'{{Infobox River | river_name = Red River of the North <br /> Rivière Rouge | image_name = Redrivernorthmap.png | caption = The Red River drainage basin, with the Red River highlighted | origin = confluence of the [[Bois de Sioux River]] and [[Otter Tail River]] | mouth = [[Lake Winnipeg]] | basin_countries = [[United States]] <br /> ([[Minnesota]]-[[North Dakota]] Border) <br /> [[Canada]] <br /> ([[Manitoba]]) | state = | length = {{convert|550|mi|km|0|abbr=on}} | elevation = | mouth_elevation = | discharge = | watershed = {{km2 to mi2|287500|abbr=es|precision=0}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/learningresources/facts/rivers.html|author=Atlas of Canada|title=Rivers of Canada|accessdate=2008-08-02}}</ref> }} :''This article is about the tributary of the [[Lake Winnipeg]], for the tributary of [[Mississippi River]], see the [[Red River]].'' The '''Red River''' or '''{{lang-fr|rivière Rouge}}''' and '''Red River of the North''', is a [[North America]]n river. Originating at the confluence of the [[Bois de Sioux River|Bois de Sioux]] and [[Otter Tail River|Otter Tail]] rivers in the [[United States]], it flows northward through the [[Red River Valley]] and forms the border between the [[U.S. states]] of [[Minnesota]] and [[North Dakota]] before continuing into [[Manitoba]], [[Canada]]. It empties into [[Lake Winnipeg]], whose waters join the world's oceans in [[Hudson Bay]] via the [[Nelson River]]. The Red River flows through several urban areas along its path including [[Fargo-Moorhead]] and [[Greater Grand Forks]] in the United States and [[Winnipeg]] in Canada. The Red is about 885 kilometres (550 miles) long,<ref>[http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/canoeing/redriver/index.html Red River of the North], [[Minnesota Department of Natural Resources]]</ref> of which about 635 kilometres (395 miles) are in the United States and about 255 kilometres (155 miles) are in Canada.<ref>[http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/canoe_routes/red_river_3.pdf Red River Map 3], Minnesota DNR; map shows the international border at [[river mile]] 155.</ref> The river falls {{convert|70|m|ft|0}} on its trip to [[Lake Winnipeg]] where it spreads into the vast deltaic wetland known as [[Netley Marsh (Manitoba)|Netley Marsh]]. In the United States, the Red River is sometimes called the '''Red River of the North,''' to distinguish it from the [[Red River (Mississippi watershed)|Red River]] that is a [[tributary]] of the [[Mississippi River]], which forms part of the border between [[Texas]] and [[Oklahoma]]. Long a highway for trade, the Red has been designated as a [[Canadian Heritage River]]. ==History== The watershed of the Red River was part of [[Rupert's Land]], the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] concession in north central North America. The Red was a key trade route for the company, and contributed to the settlement of British North America. The stream was used by [[fur trade]]rs, including the [[Métis people (Canada)|Métis people]], and by the settlers of the [[Red River Colony]], the primary settlement of which eventually became [[Winnipeg]], [[Manitoba]]. The river gave its name to the [[Red River Trails]], nineteenth-century oxcart trails which supported this trade and these settlements, and which led to further development of the region on both sides of the international border. ==Geography== [[File:Wpgriversky.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Red River in [[Winnipeg]], Manitoba]] [[Image:Redrivergrandforks.jpg|200px|thumb|The Red River in [[Greater Grand Forks]], as viewed from the [[Grand Forks, North Dakota|Grand Forks]] side of the river]] The Red River forms at [[Wahpeton, North Dakota]] and [[Breckenridge, Minnesota]], passes through [[Fargo, North Dakota]]/[[Moorhead, Minnesota]] and [[Grand Forks, North Dakota]]/[[East Grand Forks, Minnesota]], and then continues on to the province of [[Manitoba]] in Canada. Manitoba's capital — [[Winnipeg]] — is at the Red's confluence with the [[Assiniboine River]], at a point commonly referred to as [[The Forks, Winnipeg|The Forks]]. The Red then flows further north before draining into [[Lake Winnipeg]] which is part of the [[Hudson Bay]] [[drainage basin|watershed]]. Southern Manitoba has a comparatively long frost-free season, between 120 and 140 days in the Red River Valley.<ref>[[Microsoft Encarta]] 2005. Retrieved on October 18, 2008.</ref> ==Geology== The Red River flows across the flat lakebed of the ancient glacial [[Lake Agassiz]], an enormous [[glacial lake]] created at the end of the [[Wisconsin glaciation]] from meltwaters of the [[Laurentide ice sheet]]. As this continental glacier decayed, its meltwaters formed the lake, and over thousands of years sediments precipitated to the bottom of the lakebed. These [[Lake|lacustrine]] soils are the parent soils of today's [[Red River Valley]]. The river itself is very young; it began only after Lake Agassiz drained, about 9,500 years ago.<ref name = Schwert>Schwert, Don (interviewed by Tom Crann), [http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/03/25/flood_plain_geology/ The geology of the Red River flood plain], [[Minnesota Public Radio]], 25 March 2005. Taped interview.</ref> The word "valley" is a misnomer. While the Red River drains the region, it did not create a valley wider than a few hundred feet, and the much-wider floodplain is the lakebed of the glacial lake.<ref name = Schwert>{{cite web | last = Schwert | first = Donald P | title = A Brief Overview of the Geology of the Fargo – Moorhead Region, North Dakota – Minnesota | work = Fargo Geology | publisher = [[North Dakota State University]] | url = http://www.ndsu.edu/fargo_geology/briefhistory.htm }}</ref> It is remarkably flat; from its origin near [[Breckenridge, Minnesota]] to the international border near [[Emerson, Manitoba]], its gradient is only about 1:5000, or approximately 1 foot per mile. The river, slow and small in most seasons, does not have the energy to cut a gorge. Instead it meanders across the silty bottomlands in its progress north.<ref name = Schwert/><ref name = Geo>{{Citation | last = Meryhew | first = Richard | title = Geology set the Red River on a course for flooding | newspaper = [[Minneapolis Star-Tribune]] | pages = 1 | year = | date = March 24, 2009 | url = http://www.startribune.com/local/41795147.html?elr=KArksUUUU}}</ref> In consequence, high water has nowhere to go, except to spread across the old lakebed in "overland flooding". Heavy snows or rains, on saturated or frozen soil, has caused a number of catastophic floods, which often are made worse by the fact that snowmelt starts in the warmer south, and waters flowing northward are often dammed or slowed by ice.<ref name = Schwert/><ref>{{cite web | last = Puxley | first = Chinta | title = Manitoba flood forecasters say don't be alarmed by flooding in Dakota | publisher = Yahoo! News Canada | url = http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090327/national/mba_flooding_15 | date = 27 March 2009 }}</ref> These periodic floods have the effect of refilling, in part, the ancient lake.<ref name = Geo/> Major floods in historic times include those of 1826, 1897, 1950, 1997, and 2009, and many years in between.<ref>[http://www.rrbdin.org/about/flood-tables.jsp Major Historical Floods in the Red River Basin]</ref> There have been many other floods in prehistoric times, of equal or greater size. These "paleofloods" are known from their effects on local landforms, and have been the subject of scholarly studies.<ref>[http://www.gov.mb.ca/iedm/mrd/geo/pflood/index.html Paleofloods in the Red River Basin]</ref> ===1950 flood=== {{Main|1950 Red River Flood}} On [[May 8]], [[1950]] the Red River reached its highest level at Winnipeg since 1861.<ref>{{cite web | title = Winnipeg Flood - 1950 | work = SOS! Canadian Disasters: Water | publisher = Library and Archives Canada | url = http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/sos/002028-1200-e.html?PHPSESSID=gj191qoh91idmvrkkv03trjco2 | date = 14 February 2006 }}</ref> Eight [[Dike (construction)|dikes]] protecting Winnipeg gave way and flooded much of the city, turning {{convert|600|sqmi|km2|0}} of farmland into an enormous lake. The city turned to the [[Canadian Army]] and the [[Red Cross]] for help, and nearly 70,000 people were evacuated from their homes and businesses. Four of eleven bridges in the city were destroyed, and damage was estimated at between $600 million and $1 billion. As a result of the floods, a flood control project was started to ensure the same would never happen again. The [[Red River Floodway]] around Winnipeg was cause for some derision at the time, as it seemed massively overbuilt and was the largest earth-moving project in the world at the time.{{Fact|date=April 2009}} The project was completed under-budget, and has been used for at least some flood control twenty times in the thirty-seven years from its completion to 2006. The Floodway has saved an estimated $10 billion (CAD) in flood damages.{{Fact|date=April 2009}} ===1997 flood=== {{Main|1997 Red River Flood}} In the spring of 1997 a major flood of the Red River caused $3.5 billion in damage and required temporary evacuation of towns and cities on both sides of the border. ===2009 flood=== {{Main|2009 Red River flood}} [[Image:Red River of the North.jpg|200px|thumb|right|The Red River in [[Fargo-Moorhead]], as viewed from the [[Fargo, North Dakota|Fargo]] side of the river]] {{Wikinews|Fargo, North Dakota, prepares for record flooding}} In 2009 the Red River flooded in early spring. By Friday, March 27, the river at Fargo had reached the highest level in recorded history,<ref>{{cite web | last = Gunderson | first = Dan | coauthors = Robertson, Tom, and Nelson, Tim | title = Red River tops historic marker, undermines dike | publisher = [[Minnesota Public Radio]] | date = 2009-03-27 | url = http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/03/27/flood_friday/ | accessdate = 2009-03-27}}</ref><ref name = Kolpack>{{cite web | last = Kolpack | first = Dave | title = Red River valley gets good news in new flood forecast | publisher = [[Minnesota Public Radio]] | url = http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/03/28/floodforecast/ | date = March 28, 2009 }} (AP)</ref> and its discharge at that location was far in excess of normal flows.<ref>{{cite web | title = Real-Time Water Data for Red River of the North at Fargo, ND | work = National Water Information System: Web Interface | date = 27 March 2009 | publisher = [[United States Geological Survey]] | url = http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nd/nwis/uv/?site_no=05054000 }}</ref> == See also == * [[List of northward-flowing rivers of the United States]] * [[Red River (disambiguation)|Red River]], other rivers with the same name ==Notes== {{Reflist}} ==External links== *[http://www.ccge.org/ccge/english/Resources/rivers/tr_rivers_redRiver.asp Canadian Council for Geographic Education page with a series of articles on the history of the Red River]. *[http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/floods/redriver/index_e.php Geological Survey of Canada page describing the nature and history of Red River floods]. *[http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/canoeing/redriver/index.html Minnesota DNR Red River website] *[http://nd.water.usgs.gov/pubs/key/redriver.html U.S. Geological Survey Reports and Abstracts Related to the Red River of the North] *[http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/circ1169/ Water Quality in the Red River of the North] *[http://gf.nd.gov/fishing/redbro.html Fish of the Red River--Red River Angler's Guide] *[http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/fargoflood/ North Dakota State University's Fargo Flood website] {{coord|50|23|47|N|96|48|39|W|display=title}} [[Category:Rivers of Manitoba]] [[Category:Rivers of Minnesota]] [[Category:Rivers of North Dakota]] [[Category:International rivers of North America]] [[Category:Canadian Heritage Rivers]] [[Category:Borders of Minnesota]] [[Category:Borders of North Dakota]] [[bg:Ред Ривър (река)]] [[cs:Red (přítok Winnipežského jezera)]] [[de:Red River of the North]] [[et:Red River (Nelson)]] [[es:Río Rojo del Norte]] [[fa:رودخانه رد ریور]] [[fr:Rivière Rouge (Manitoba)]] [[it:Red River del Nord]] [[lt:Šiaurės Red Riveris]] [[hu:Vörös folyó (Kanada)]] [[nl:Red River of the North]] [[ja:レッド川 (ネルソン川水系)]] [[no:Red River of the North]] [[pl:Red (rzeka)]] [[pt:Rio Red do Norte]] [[ru:Ред-Ривер]] [[sh:Red River of the North]] [[fi:Red River (Yhdysvallat ja Kanada)]] [[sv:Red River of the North]] [[uk:Північний Ред]] [[zh:红河 (温尼伯湖)]]'