Where Does the Red River Start?

Where does the Red River start? The answer to this question depends on whether you are referring to the Red River of the North, or the Red River of the South, which is a tributary of the Mississippi River.

This river is the only one in the United States that runs from south to north. It starts where the Bois de Sioux and the Otter Tail rivers merge, north of Lake Traverse and travels in northeast South Dakota. It crosses into the Canadian province of Manitoba and empties into Lake Winnipeg. Its main tributary is the Assiniboine River. 

The Red River of the North flows through Fargo-Moorhead, Greater Grand Forks, and Winnepeg. It is about 550 miles long, most of that in the United States, and on its way to Lake Winnepeg, forms a wetland called Netley Marsh. Netley Marsh is home to the Netley Marsh Game Bird Refuge and provides a place for the fish of Lake Winnepeg to spawn, feed, and grow.

If you want to know, "Where does the Red River start?" then you might be referring to its ancient past. Lake Agassiz was a huge lake formed from a glacier, and the Red River of the North flows across its lakebed. As the Laurentide ice sheet melted, sediments formed at the bottom of the lake, and those are the soils of today's Red River Valley. The river is about 9,500 years old.    

Where Does the Red River Start?

The Red River, also called the Red River of the South, is 1,360 miles long and it is called the Red River because of the color of its soil. It starts in the Texas panhandle with two branches. The major fork is named the Prairie Dog Town Fork and is 120 miles long. 

The Red River flows east, through Palo Duro Canyon and the town of Newlin, Texas before it becomes the border between Texas and Oklahoma. It then enters Arkansas, turns south when it nears the town of Fulton, and flows into Louisiana.  It is a major tributary of both the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers, which flow into the Gulf of Mexico. One additional fact is that Lake Texoma was formed by the Denison Dam (1943) and is one of the biggest reservoirs in the country.  

Red River War (1874-1875)

In addition to answering the question, "Where does the Red River start?" you might also like to know about some of its history. The Red River War was started by the U.S. Army to remove the Southern Cheyenne, Comanche, Arapaho, and Kiowa Indian tribes from the Southern Plains and relocate them to Indian Territory (land set aside for the Indians). 

The Comanche, Cheyenne, and Kiowa Indians attacked a group of white buffalo hunters at a trading post named Adobe Walls in Texas. This began the war. Fighting escalated and the Army and the Indian Bureau declared war on all Indians that were not on a reservation. In January, 1875, the Indians were defeated and returned to their reservations. Sadly, one effect of the Red River War was the extermination of the southern buffalo herd.    

The Formation of Rivers

A river is a stream of fresh water flowing downhill and emptying into a lake, ocean or another river. A river's headwaters are usually springs or small streams in the mountains. Small streams are also called tributaries, brooks, or creeks. The water in a river can accumulate from rainfall, melting snow, or melting glaciers. 

There are three types of rivers and a river is classified based on its sediments. A Youthful River has a steep incline, so it flows quickly, and has only a few tributaries. Examples include the Brazos River in Texas and the Ebro River in Spain.

A mature river is not as steep so it runs slower than the youthful river. It has many tributaries and less sediment. The St. Lawrence River and the River Thames are mature rivers. An old river is not very steep at all and depends on flood plains, so it flows slowly. The Nile, Ganges, and Euphrates are a few of the oldest rivers in the world.