| Red River Rivière Rouge (former French name),Río Colorado (former Spanish name) | |
|---|---|
 Red River looking east, north ofBonham, Texas:Texas is to the right, Oklahoma is on the left, and the border between the two states runs along the south (right) bank of the river. | |
 Map of the Red River watershed | |
 | |
| Native name | Bah'hatteno (Caddo)[1] |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| States | Texas,Oklahoma,Arkansas, andLouisiana |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Confluence of the Prairie Dog Town Fork and Buck Creek,Harmon County, Oklahoma[2] |
| • coordinates | 34°34′35″N99°57′54″W / 34.57639°N 99.96500°W /34.57639; -99.96500 |
| • elevation | 1,535 ft (468 m)[citation needed] |
| Mouth | |
• location | Atchafalaya River |
• coordinates | 31°01′10″N91°44′52″W / 31.01944°N 91.74778°W /31.01944; -91.74778 |
• elevation | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Length | 1,360 mi (2,190 km) |
| Basin size | 65,595 sq mi (169,890 km2) |
| Discharge | |
| • location | mouth; max and min atAlexandria, LA |
| • average | 57,000 cu ft/s (1,600 m3/s) |
| • minimum | 1,472 cu ft/s (41.7 m3/s) |
| • maximum | 233,000 cu ft/s (6,600 m3/s) |
TheRed River is a major river in theSouthern United States.[3] It was named for its reddish water color from passing throughred-bed country in itswatershed.[4] It also is known as theRed River of the South to distinguish it from theRed River of the North, which flows betweenMinnesota andNorth Dakota into the Canadian province ofManitoba. Although once atributary of theMississippi River, the Red River now is a tributary of theAtchafalaya River, adistributary of the Mississippi that flows separately into the Gulf of Mexico. This confluence is connected to the Mississippi River by theOld River Control Structure.
The south bank of the Red River formed part of theUS–Mexico border from theAdams–Onís Treaty (in force only in 1821), until theTexas Annexation and theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
The Red River basin is the second-largest in the southernGreat Plains.[5] It rises in two branches in theTexas panhandle and flows eastward, serving as a border between the states ofTexas andOklahoma. It forms a short border between Texas andArkansas before entering Arkansas. It forms much of the eastern border ofMiller County, Arkansas, turning south nearFulton and flowing intoLouisiana, where it feeds the Atchafalaya River. The total length of the river is 1,360 miles (2,190 km), with a mean flow of over 57,000 cubic feet per second (1,600 m3/s) at the mouth.[citation needed]
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The Red River begins at the junction of Buck Creek andPrairie Dog Town Fork, inHarmon County, Oklahoma.[6][2][note 1]
Specialists have debated whether theNorth Fork or thePrairie Dog Town Fork is the true stem.[5] In 1852,Randolph B. Marcy's expedition had followed the Prairie Dog Town Fork.[5] Because of acartographic error, the land between the north and south forks was claimed by both the state of Texas and theUnited States federal government. Originally calledGreer County, Texas, theUS Supreme Court ruled that it belonged to the United States, which at the time oversaw theOklahoma Territory. That territory was later incorporated into the state ofOklahoma, whose southern border follows the south fork. Today, the southern Prairie Dog Town Fork is considered the main fork, though the North Fork is as long and normally has a greater water flow.[5]
The southern fork, about 120 miles (190 km) long, is generally considered the main stem of the Red River. It is formed inRandall County, Texas, near thecounty seat ofCanyon, by theconfluence ofTierra Blanca Creek and intermittent Palo Duro Creek (not to be confused with anotherPalo Duro Creek 75 miles to the north, which drains into theNorth Canadian River). It turns and flows southeast throughPalo Duro Canyon inPalo Duro Canyon State Park at an elevation of 3,440 feet (1,050 m),[5] and pastNewlin, Texas, to cross the Oklahoma state line. About 2 miles south ofElmer, Oklahoma, theSalt Fork of the Red River joins from the north. These combined waters receive theNorth Fork Red River from the north about 10 mi (16 km) west-southwest ofFrederick, Oklahoma to form the Red River proper.[citation needed]
The combined river follows a winding course east through one of the most arid parts of theGreat Plains, receiving theWichita River about 25 miles northeast of the city ofWichita Falls. NearDenison, the river exits the eastern end ofLake Texoma, a reservoir formed by theDenison Dam. (The lake is also fed by theWashita River from the north.) Beyond the dam it runs generally east towardsArkansas, receiving Oklahoma'sMuddy Boggy Creek on the left bank before turning southward nearTexarkana.[citation needed]
Soon after, the waterway crosses south intoLouisiana. The sister cities ofShreveport andBossier City were developed on either bank of the river, as were the downriver cities ofAlexandria andPineville. After being joined from the north by theBlack River (downstream name of theOuachita River, its largest tributary) about 1.5 miles south ofAcme, the river broadens into a complex network of marshlands west of the Mississippi River. Its waters eventually become atributary of theAtchafalaya River[7] and flow generally southward into theGulf of Mexico.
Tributaries include theLittle Red River,Prairie Dog Town Fork Red River,Salt Fork Red River,North Fork Red River,Cross Bayou,Pease River,Washita River,Kiamichi River,Wichita River,Little Wichita River,Little River,Sulphur River,Bayou Brevelle,Loggy Bayou (throughLake Bistineau andDorcheat Bayou), theBlue River, as well as theOuachita River (also known as the Black River at that point) not far (atAcme, Louisiana) from the mouth.
The Red River is salty through tributaries aboveLake Texoma. The saltiness is caused byPermian salt deposits – mostly sodium chloride. Deposition eventually buried the deposits, but the salt continues to leach through natural seeps in tributaries above Lake Texoma, sending as much as 3,450 tons of salt per day flowing down the Red River.[8][9]
The Red River's watershed covers 65,590 square miles (169,900 km2)[5] and is the southernmost major river system in theGreat Plains. Its drainage basin is mostly in the states of Texas and Oklahoma, but also covers parts of New Mexico, Arkansas and Louisiana. Its basin is characterized by flat, fertileagricultural land, with only a few major cities. The drainage basin of the Red River is very arid and receives littleprecipitation. As a result, much of the river above the Texas–Oklahoma border is intermittent, and the flow varies widely until the river is beyond its great bend south in Arkansas. Most of the agriculture in the basin is sustained bygroundwater, which is recharged with rainfall and river flow. The lower course of the river flows through a series ofmarshes andswamps, which dramatically moderate its flow.[citation needed] The Red River is said to have once carried five times the sediment load of the Mississippi.[10]
Native American cultures along the river were diverse, developing specialized adaptations to the many different environments.[5] Starting near the headwaters, the Plains division of theLipan Apache dominated the western Red River area until the 18th century, when they were displaced by invadingComanche from the north.[5] The middle part of the Red River was dominated by theWichita andTonkawa. This area wasprairie, where Native Americans constructed portable and temporarytepees for housing. They practiced limited farming and followed game in seasonal,nomadic hunting cycles.[5] By the time ofEuropean contact, the easternPiney Woods of the lower river courses were dominated by the numerous historic tribes of theCaddo Confederacy. They found plentiful game and fish, and also had good land for cultivating staple crops.[5]
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In 1806, PresidentThomas Jefferson commissioned theRed River Expedition to explore parts of the new lands of the 1803Louisiana Purchase by traveling up the Red River. Jefferson wrote in a letter to explorerWilliam Dunbar that the river was "in truth, next to theMissouri, the most interesting water of theMississippi".[11] Having threaded the maze ofbayous at the river's confluence and the "Great Raft" of lodged driftwood, the expedition was stopped by theSpanish near present-dayNew Boston, Texas.
In 1806, LieutenantZebulon Pike, under orders to ascertain the source of the Red River, ascended theArkansas River, made his way downstream on what turned out to be theRio Grande, and was sent home by the Spanish authorities. A more successful exploration of the river's upper reaches to both its sources came with the 1852 expedition under Capt.Randolph Barnes Marcy, assisted by Brevet Capt.George B. McClellan.[12] A decade later McClellan became an important general in theAmerican Civil War.
In April 1815, Captain Henry Miller Shreve was the first person to bring a steamboat, theEnterprise, up the Red River. Fulton and Livingston, who claimed the exclusive right to navigate Louisiana waters by steamboat, sued Shreve in the District Court of New Orleans. The judge ruled that the monopoly claimed by the plaintiffs was illegal. That decision, along with a similar outcome inGibbons v. Ogden, freed navigation on every river, lake or harbor in the United States from interference by monopolies.[13]
WhenJohn Quincy Adams becameSecretary of State in 1817, one of his highest priorities was to settle with Spain the boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase. He negotiated withLuis de Onís, the Spanish Minister to the United States, and finally concluded theAdams–Onis Treaty, also known as the Treaty of 1819. The treaty defined the south bank of the river as the boundary between the United States and Spain, as of when it was surveyed and demarcated following 1819. That boundary continued to be recognized whenMexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821, and ongoingly whenTexas became independent fromMexico in 1835–1836. It remained the official boundary[13] until the United States Congress consented in October 2000 to the Red River Boundary Compact, which had been adopted in 1999 by the states of Oklahoma and Texas[1]. This set the jurisdictional boundary between these states at the vegetation line on the south bank, leaving title of adjacent property owners at the south bank. (The Red River actively meanders, as shown by comparing current maps of the political boundaries with those defined by the river's course decades ago.)
TheRed River Campaign (March–May 1864) was fought along the Red River Valley in Louisiana during theAmerican Civil War. It was part of a failed attempt by theUnion to occupy eastern Texas.Confederate commanderRichard Taylor succeeded in repelling an army underNathaniel Banks that was three times bigger than his own.
In Louisiana, the area of present-dayNatchitoches Parish was settled by French Creole and mixed-raceLouisiana Creole people, starting before 1800. TheCane River National Heritage Area, withplantations and churches founded by Louisiana Creoles, marks this area of influence. Some of the sites are designated as destinations on theLouisiana African American Heritage Trail, established from 2008 onwards.
The area along the lower Red River ofGrant Parish, Louisiana and neighboring parishes has a mixture of hill-country farms and cotton plantations.
In the early 19th century, settlers found that much of the river's length inLouisiana was unnavigable because of a collection of fallen trees that formed aGreat Raft over 160 miles (260 km) long. In 1839, CaptainHenry Miller Shreve began clearing the log jam, but it was not completely cleared until the 1870s, whendynamite became available. The river was thereafter navigable, although north ofNatchitoches it was restricted to small craft. Removal of the raft further connected the Red andAtchafalaya rivers, accelerating the development of the Atchafalaya River channel.[7]
TheRed River Bridge War of 1931 was a boundary conflict betweenOklahoma andTexas over an existing toll bridge and a new free bridge crossing the Red River. A joint project to build a free bridge betweenDurant, Oklahoma andDenison, Texas turned into a major dispute when theGovernor of Texas blocked traffic from entering his state on the new bridge. The Red River Bridge Company of Texas owned the original toll bridge and had a dispute over its purchase deal. Oklahoma GovernorWilliam H. Murray sent the Oklahoma National Guard to reopen the bridge that July. Texas had to retreat when lawyers determined that Oklahoma had jurisdiction over both banks of the river.[14]
In June 2015, theRed River flooded parts of northeast Texas, southwest Arkansas, southeast Oklahoma and Louisiana, fromDenison Dam, to just south ofAlexandria, Louisiana.[15] The river reached its highest level in over 70 years, cresting in most of the affected areas at around 6–9 feet over the flood levels.[16] At 4 PM on June 9, the river reached its maximum height of 37.14 feet.[17]
In 1943, Denison Dam was built on the Red River to formLake Texoma, a largereservoir of 89,000 acres (360 km2), some 70 miles (110 km) north ofDallas. Other reservoirs on the river'stributaries serve asflood control.[citation needed]
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| National | |
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