The Red River, one of several rivers by that name, flows northward, forming the entire border between Minnesota and North Dakota and then flowing into Canada, and is called the Red River of the North in order to distinguish it from another Red River (a tributary of the Mississippi River that forms part of the border between Texas and Oklahoma). It passes Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, then enters the province of Manitoba in Canada. That province's capital, Winnipeg, is at its confluence with the Assiniboine River. The river drains into Lake Winnipeg and is part of the Hudson Bay watershed.
The Red River is one of the remnants of the ancient Lake Agassiz.