Sheyenne River

The Sheyenne River is one of the major tributaries of the Red River of the North, beginning about 29 miles north of McClusky, North Dakota and meanders eastward before turning south near McVille, North Dakota.

The southerly flow of the river continues through Griggs County, North Dakota and Barnes County, North Dakota before it turns in a northeastward direction near Lisbon, North Dakota. The river forms Lake Astabula behind the Baldhill Dam north of Valley City, North Dakota.

From Lisbon, the river crosses the Sheyenne National Grassland, and enters Cass County, North Dakota near the city of Kindred, North Dakota. This stretch is designated a National Wild and Scenic River and is popular with canoeists and outdoor enthusiasts. From Kindred, the river flows north-northeastward through the fertile plains of the Red River Valley of the North.

The character of the river changes as it leaves the sandy grasslands and picks up the fertile clay soil of the Red River Valley. Previously, the river posed a flooding hazard to cities such as West Fargo, North Dakota and Harwood, North Dakota,　where it joins the Red River of the North and flows north to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba Province of Canada. Thanks to a diversion canal completed near Horace, North Dakota, the major Sheyenne River cities fared well in the 1997 Red River Flood which devastated the cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota.