Red River of the South

The Red River is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It begins in Texas, and flows through the states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. It merges with the Mississippi River in Louisiana. The river's name comes from the red clay that is found along it. The Red is about 1,320 mi (2,120 km) long.

Red River Bah'hatteno Rivière Rouge (former French name), Río Colorado (former Spanish name)
Red River looking east, north of Bonham, 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
Location
Country	United States
States	Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana
Physical characteristics
Source
- location	Harmon County, Oklahoma
- coordinates	34°34′35″N 99°57′54″W
- elevation	1,535 ft (468 m)
Mouth
- location	Atchafalaya River
- coordinates	31°01′10″N 91°44′52″W
- 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 at Alexandria, 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)

The biggest dam on the Red River is Denison Dam, which was created in 1943. It forms Lake Texoma. This lake covers 89,000 acres (360 square kilometers). There are also some other dams on the river's tributaries. At its end at the Mississippi River, it has a flow of 7,000 cubic feet (200 cubic meters) of water every second. In early 2009, the river experienced a series of catastrophic floods.

References

• Tyson, Carl N. The Red River in Southwestern History. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1981. ISBN 0-8061-1659-5