Which river with a colorful name flooded communities throughout Minnesota, North Dakota, and Canada in 1997?

In the spring of 1997, a catastrophic flood devastated the northern plains of the United States and Canada. After a winter with exceptionally heavy snowfall, a sudden spring thaw overwhelmed the Red River of the North. This unique, northward-flowing river crested at historic levels, inundating vast areas of the flat river valley. The event became a defining moment for the region, particularly for the cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota, and East Grand Forks, Minnesota, which were almost completely submerged and had to be evacuated.

The disaster was exacerbated by the region's geography. The Red River Valley is the floor of a massive, extinct glacial lake, making it one of the flattest places on Earth. This topography, combined with the river's slow, northward course, means that when it floods, the water spreads out for miles. The 1997 "Flood of the Century" caused billions of dollars in damage and prompted the construction of extensive new dikes and floodwalls to protect the communities that line the river's banks. The river itself gets its colorful name from the high concentration of reddish-brown silt it carries downstream.