EED LAKE EIVER AND THE GRAND MARAIS. 53 



utary of the Red River from its east side. From Red Lake to the mouth 

 of Thief River it flows west-northwest about 40 miles, measured in a direct 

 line; next it flows south 16 miles to a point about 3 miles east of Red Lake 

 Falls; thence west-southwest 21 miles to Crookston, and finally west and 

 northwest 23 miles to Grand Forks. Its entire length, not measui'ing 

 minor bends, is thus approximately 100 miles, but if the course of the river 

 were followed in all its meanderings this distance would be nearly doubled. 

 Its width varies mostly from 6 to 10 rods. At its mouth it has only about 

 half as great width as the Red River above their junction, but probably 

 carries an equal volume of water, as it flows with a much stronger current, 

 estimated between 2 and 3 miles per hour at the stage of ordinary low 

 water. 



The Grand Marais, extending 22 miles from the Red Lake River near 

 Fisher to a point on the Red River 12 miles below Grand Forks, is a former 

 channel of the Red Lake River, now occupied by marshes, pools, and lake- 

 lets. The widtli of this deserted channel or valley, measured between the 

 crests of its bluifs, varies commonly from 15 to 30 rods, rarely expanding to 

 a«quarter or thu-d of a mile, and its depth Ijelow the general level of the 

 valley plain is mostly about 20 feet. It is only half as deep, and averages 

 probably not more than a fifth as wide, as the present river valley. During 

 times of abundant rains, and especially when the snow melts in the spring 

 a stream occupies the Grand Marais, but through the greater part of the 

 year it has no running water. In a similar manner the Wild Rice River of 

 Minnesota, along its lower portion, at first flowed in the present channel or 

 valley of the Marsh River, from which it has turned away about 2 miles 

 southeast of Ada to a more southerly course. Doubtless in each case a 

 smaller stream had previously begun the erosion of the channel into which 

 the river was diverted. 



The fall of Red Lake River between Red Lake and Thief River is 

 73 feet, from 1,172 to 1,099 feet above the sea. Thence to its mouth it 

 descends 315 feet, averaging more than 5 feet per mile in its direct course. 

 Its banks and bed consist of glacial drift, excepting where this formation 

 is covered by alluvial deposits, and consequently the stream has acquired 

 a somewhat regular slope, broken, indeed, by frequent rapids where it runs 



