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Red RiverBah'hatteno[1]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 watershedLocationCountryUnited StatesStatesTexas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and LouisianaPhysical characteristicsSource  - locationHarmon County, Oklahoma - coordinates - elevation1,535 ft (468 m)
Mouth  - locationAtchafalaya River - coordinatesCoordinates:  - elevation30 ft (9.1 m)Length1,360 mi (2,190 km)Basin size65,595 sq mi (169,890 km2)Discharge  - locationmouth; max and min at Alexandria, LA - average57,000 cu ft/s (1,600 m3/s) - minimum1,472 cu ft/s (41.7 m3/s) - maximum233,000 cu ft/s (6,600 m3/s)

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.
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