: ''See also the
Red River disambiguation page.''

Red River drainage basin
The 'Red River Valley' is a region in central
North America that is drained by the
Red River of the North. It is significant in the
geography of
North Dakota,
Minnesota, and
Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of
Fargo,
Grand Forks, and
Winnipeg.
Paleogeographic Lake Agassiz laid down the Red River Valley silts.
U.S. historical importance
The U.S. government uses the term to generally describe the sections of northeastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota which the U.S. secured title to following the
Anglo-American Convention of 1818. Centered around the
Red River of the North, these lands had previously been under the control of
Great Britain. This land became part of the U.S. when the second article of the 1818 treaty declared the
49th parallel to be the official border between the U.S. and
Canada up to the
Rocky Mountains. (This borderline was extended to the
Pacific Ocean in 1846 under the
Oregon Treaty.) The land acquired from the treaty had an area of 29,601,920 acres (119,794.72 km²), comprising 1.3 percent of total U.S. land area. The title was secured at no cost. The region was sparsely populated for generations. The area is one of several distinct
regions of Minnesota.
See also
★
Pembina Territory
★
Red River Settlement
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Sheyenne River
★
Shellmouth Reservoir
★
Portage Diversion
★
Red River Floodway
External links
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RiverWatchOnline: Red River History