See also the Red River disambiguation page.

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 centres of Fargo, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg.

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. 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.

See also

• Pembina Territory
• Red River Settlement

External link

• RiverWatchOnline: Red River History