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In order to count this Earthcache as a find, you must complete the following tasks and email the answers to me.
1. What is the elevation?
2. Estimate the width of the river.
3. What evidence of flooding (if any) can be seen?
4. Describe what you think the area looks like during a paleoflood, including estimated heights and widths of the river as well as what effects flooding has on the area/land bordering the river.
This Earthcache is located at a public water access on the North Dakota side of the Red River. There is a small dam at this location and at certain times of the year, a pedestrian bridge spans the river. Enjoy!
At the end of the last ice age, a huge pool of water formed in the Fargo-Moorhead area. This body of water was known as Glacial Lake Agassiz and was the largest lake in the world, containing more water than all of today's lakes combined. As this ancient lake started to drain northward about 9000 years ago, the Red River was born. Today, Lake Agassiz is gone, but its lakebed remains. Across this ancient lakebed--one of the flattest regions on Earth--flows the Red River. Sloping only about one foot per mile, the river, which flows slowly and is generally pretty small, does not have enough energy to cut a deep, straight gorge. Instead, it meanders (curves and bends) across the low-lying lands as it flows north to the Hudson Bay. Consequently, when the river rises, the water has nowhere to go, except to spread across the old lakebed and flood. Heavy snows or rains on saturated or frozen soil has caused a number of catastrophic floods, which often are made worse by the fact that snowmelt starts in the south (where it is warmer), and the waters flowing north are often dammed or slowed by ice. These periodic floods have the effect of refilling, in part, the ancient Lake Agassiz.
Major floods of the Red River in history include those of 1826, 1897, 1950, 1997, and 2009. Minor flooding has occurred between those years. There have also been many other floods in prehistoric times or equal or greater size to the major floods of recent years. These “paleofloods” are known from their effects on local landforms.
The 1950 Red River flood affected all cities along the Red River, but was most devastating to Winnipeg. On 8 May 1950, the Red River reached its highest level since 1861, cresting at 30 feet. The eight dikes protecting Winnipeg gave way and flooded much of the city, forcing 100,000 residents to evacuate--the largest evacuation in Canadian history. This flooding in and near Winnipeg turned 600 square miles of farmland into an enormous lake. Four of the eleven bridges in the city were destroyed and the damage of the flood was estimated at between $600 million and $1 billion (CAD). As a result of the 1950 flood, a flood control project was started to ensure this would never happen again. The Red River Floodway around Winnipeg was the largest earth-moving project in the world at the time and caused much ridicule as it seemed massively overbuilt. This project, however, has controlled massive flooding at least twenty times in the thirty-seven years since its completion and has saved an estimated $10 billion (CAD) in flood damages.
The Red River Flood of 1997, the most severe flood of the river since 1826, was most detrimental to Grand Forks, North Dakota and its sister city East Grand Forks, Minnesota. (Note: The floodway constructed after the 1950 flood in Winnipeg saved Winnipeg from flooding.) In Grand Forks, floodwaters reached over three miles inland, flooding virtually everything in the two cities. This flood was largely result of abundant snowfall and extreme temperatures, but flooding of the overland also contributed as the Red River was unable to drain meltwater away. The first dikes in Grand Forks gave way in the low-lying neighborhoods on April 18. Over the course of that day and the next, other dikes over Grand Forks and East Grand Forks also failed. During these two days, 50,000 people were forced to evacuate. This was the largest evacuation in United States history since the evacuation of residents in Atlanta, Georgia during the Civil War. Flood waters continued to rise and spread out across the two cities, requiring the evacuation of all of East Grand Forks and 75% of Grand Forks. Residents of East Grand Forks were evacuated to nearby Crookston and the University of Minnesota Crookston, while residents of Grand Forks were moved to the Grand Forks Air Force Base where they stayed in airplane hangars containing more than 3000 cots. Many residents also evacuated to motels and homes in neighboring communities. The river finally crested at 54.35 feet on April 21 and did not fall below 49 feet until April 26. Because the water drained so slowly out of most of the low-lying areas, many homeowners could not visit their damaged property until May. By May 30, the Red River finally receded below flood stages. Total damages from the flooding in Grand Forks was $3.5 billion. Following the flood, a new levee system was constructed to prevent future catastrophic flooding.
The 2009 Red River flood hit the cities of Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota the hardest. The levees in both Grand Forks and Winnipeg, which had been constructed after the 1997 and 1950 floods respectfully, saved both cities from another catastrophic flood. The large amount of snowfall and the warmer temperatures causing the snow to melt quickly added to the water level of the Red River. The situation was not helped by the rainy weather and blizzard conditions while the river had already begun to flood, forcing small portions of Fargo and Moorhead to evacuate. Volunteers and the National Guard worked to fill over five million sandbags and build earthen and clay dikes to hold back the River. On March 26, the Red River exceeded the 1997 crest of 39.57 in Fargo-Moorhead, which was the second-highest crest in the history of the Red River in this area. The Red River finally crested on March 28 at nearly 41 feet, breaking the record set in 1897. On April 16, the Red River reached its second crest at 34 feet. The cities of Fargo and Moorhead are currently in the process of designing a levee system similar to those in Grand Forks and Winnipeg.
NOT A LOGGING REQUIREMENT: Feel free to post pictures of your group at the area or the area itself - I love looking at the pictures.
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