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Red River of the North
Mouth	Lake Winnipeg
Basin countries	United States, Canada

For other things named Red River, see the Red River disambiguation page.

The Red River (French: rivière Rouge), one of several by that name, is a North American river. Formed by the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers, it flows northward through the Red River Valley, forming much of the border between Minnesota and North Dakota, and continues into Manitoba. It is about 880 km long, falling 70 m on its trip to Lake Winnipeg, where it spreads into the vast deltaic wetland known as Netley Marsh.

Originally part of Rupert's Land, the Red was a key river in the early settlement of Canada, a centre of the fur trade and the Métis people, and the site of the Red River Colony, the primary city of which eventually became Winnipeg.

In the United States it is called the Red River of the North when distinguishing it from another Red River (a tributary of the Mississippi River that forms part of the border between Texas and Oklahoma).

The Red River forms at Wahpeton, North Dakota and Breckenridge, Minnesota, and passes Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota, Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, then enters the province of Manitoba in Canada. That province's capital, Winnipeg, is at its confluence with the Assiniboine River. The river drains into Lake Winnipeg and is part of the Hudson Bay watershed.

The Red River flows across the flat, former bottom of the ancient glacial Lake Agassiz.

Main article: Red River Flood, 1997

In April of 1997, the Red River rapidly swelled and eventually caused widespread flooding. Damages to the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota totaled $2 billion (USD). Winnipeg suffered $500 million (CAD) in damage because the city is protected by the Red River Floodway which diverted most of the water around it. This flood is widely considered one of the worst natural disasters in North American history. Other major floods occurred in 1826 and 1950. In April 2006, another large flood caused the Gretna, Manitoba border crossing to close as the water levels rose considerably.

• Red River Valley
• Red River Floodway
• Red River Settlement
• List of Manitoba rivers
• List of Minnesota rivers
• List of North Dakota rivers

• Canadian Council for Geographic Education page with a series of articles on the history of the Red River.
• Geological Survey of Canada page describing the nature and history of Red River floods.