Red River of the South: Gypsum Badlands, Lake Texoma & Atchafalaya Boundary

## The Crimson Artery of the Southern Plains

The **Red River** (commonly distinguished as the *Red River of the South* to prevent confusion with the northern Red River of the North) stretches **1,290 miles (2,076 kilometers)**. Rising from the Caprock Escarpment of the Texas Panhandle and eastern New Mexico, it carves the Texas-Oklahoma border before slicing across southwestern Arkansas and northwestern Louisiana.

### Permian Red Beds & High Natural Salinity
The river derives its vivid brick-red color from the extensive erosion of **Permian red-bed clays and shales** rich in iron oxide. In its upper forks, the river passes through extensive gypsum and salt flats:
- Natural salt springs dissolve massive amounts of sodium chloride into the headwaters.
- Water salinity levels frequently reach brackish concentrations unsuitable for direct crop irrigation without dilution.

### Denison Dam & Lake Texoma
In 1944, the US Army Corps of Engineers completed **Denison Dam** across the Red River near Denison, Texas, creating Lake Texoma. This reservoir provides crucial flood control, prevents severe downstream bank scour in Shreveport, and generates 70 megawatts of clean hydroelectric power.

*Data Source: US Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District & Red River Valley Association.*