The 1897 Red River Flood took place in April 1897, along the Red River

Red River of the North

The Red River is a North American river. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers in the United States, it flows northward through the Red River Valley and forms the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota before continuing into Manitoba, Canada...

 resulting in significant damage to the city of Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

. The conditions which led to the flood of 1897 were similar to the conditions behind the 2009 flood

2009 Red River flood

The 2009 Red River flood along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada brought record flood levels to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The flood was a result of saturated and frozen ground, Spring snowmelt exacerbated by additional rain and snow...

, however the 1897 flood was different in terms of the human response to it. Although the river gage was not installed on the Red River until 1901, other sources indicate that the crest of the 1897 flood at a site 1.5 miles (2.4 km) downstream from the present Fargo gage would have been 40.10 ft (with a discharge rate of 25,000 ft³/s) according to the present datum. Until the 2009 flood

2009 Red River flood

The 2009 Red River flood along the Red River of the North in North Dakota and Minnesota in the United States and Manitoba in Canada brought record flood levels to the Fargo-Moorhead area. The flood was a result of saturated and frozen ground, Spring snowmelt exacerbated by additional rain and snow...

 the 1897 flood was the highest water recorded at in the Fargo-Moorhead area and has since served as the benchmark for which many other floods of the Red River were measured against.

Causes

In the spring of 1897 R.M. Probesfield took a measurement of 5 feet (1.5 m) of snow on the ground in an area which was free from drifting; a value 2 foot (0.6096 m) higher than one taken prior to the 1861 flood. Due to the level of measured snowfall a flood in the spring was expected.

River crests

City	Crest	Date
Wahpeton, North Dakota Wahpeton, North Dakota The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...	2' 8" above the 1893 high	1897-03-31
Fargo, North Dakota Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...	40.10 ft (present datum) 34.2 ft (1952 datum)	1897-04-07 - Early Morning
Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...	Line along 3rd Street Covering Demers Ave in East Grand Forks East Grand Forks, Minnesota -K-12:The East Grand Forks School District enrolls over 1,000 students and operates two elementary schools , Central Middle School, and East Grand Forks Senior High School. There are also two private Christian schools. Sacred Heart School is a Roman Catholic elementary, middle, and high school...	1897-04-10 - Noon

External links

• Photographs of Flooding in the Fargo-Moorhead Region: 1897 - 1996
• Red River’s last record crest - 1897