The Red Lake River ( French: ''Rivière du Lac Rouge'';

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

: ''Miskwaagamiiwi-zaaga'iganiiwi-ziibi'') is a river located in northwestern

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The river begins on the western side of the Lower Red Lake and flows westward. After passing through Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, and Crookston, the river merges with the

Red River of the North The Red River (), also called the Red River of the North () to differentiate it from the Red River of the South, Red River in the south of the continent, is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confl ...

in East Grand Forks. The total length of the river is U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data
The National Map
accessed June 8, 2011 The term "Forks" in Grand Forks comes from this forking (

confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...

) of the Red and Red Lake rivers near downtown Grand Forks. As a tributary of the Red River, the Red Lake River contributed to the heavy flooding of

Greater Grand Forks The Greater Grand Forks (officially the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan statistical area), as defined by the Census Bureau as comprising all of Grand Forks County in North Dakota and Polk County in Minnesota, anchored by the twin cities of G ...

in 1997. The river also caused damage in its own right, albeit less severe, in Crookston.

Terrain

The Red Lake River covers a wide variety of terrain. After leaving the Red Lake, the river flows through a marsh in the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The river then flows through a prairie and, then, through farmland. Afterward, St. Hilaire the sides of the river grow steeper, becoming large eroding cliffs. Some parts of the riverbanks are thickly forested. The river is relatively smooth for most of the trip. There is a stretch between St. Hilaire and Crookston where there is a chain of rapids, which are easily navigated.

Recreation

The Red Lake River is one of the few Minnesota state canoe routes in the area. There are a number of rest areas and camping facilities along the route. The Red Lake River is a popular source of recreation for area residents, and many enjoy the tubing and

canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian. A few of the recreational ...

the river makes possible.

Dams

The Minnesota State Department of Natural Resources (MN DNR) website (see References section) describing the nature of the river mentions three dams on the river (note that this is not to be taken as the total number of dams and/or structures located on this river): * At

river mile A river mile is a measure of distance in miles along a river from its river mouth, mouth. River mile numbers begin at zero and increase further upstream. The corresponding metric unit using kilometre, kilometers is the river kilometer. They are an ...

181 * City of Red Lake Falls (dam owned by Otter Tail Power Company) * City of Crookston (dam owned by Otter Tail Power Company) Note: The Otter Tail Power Company site does not list the above two dams as a source of hydropower.

References

Red Lake River Corridor

Red Lake River Corridor Enhancement Project
October 2005 report. * {{authority control Rivers of Minnesota Rivers of Pennington County, Minnesota Rivers of Beltrami County, Minnesota Rivers of Polk County, Minnesota Rivers of Red Lake County, Minnesota Tributaries of the Red River of the North Minnesota placenames of Native American origin

Terrain

Recreation

Dams

See also

References