:
There are also other rivers named Red River.
thumb|right|280px|Red River and its tributaries.
Sunset over Red River, view from Long Bien Bridge, Hanoi, Vietnam
The
Red River, also known as the
Hong - Red,
Song Cai,
Song Ca - Mother River (Vietnamese), or
Yuan River (Chinese), is a
river that flows from southwestern
China through northern
Vietnam to the
Gulf of Tonkin.
The Red River begins in China's
Yunnan province in the mountains south of
Dali. It flows generally southeastwardly, passing through
Dai ethnic minority areas before leaving China through Yunnan's
Honghe Autonomous Prefecture. It enters Vietnam at
Lào Cai Province. Once reaching the lowlands near Viet Tri, the river and its distributaries spread out to form the
Red River Delta. The Red River flows past the Vietnamese capital
Hanoi before emptying into the
Gulf of Tonkin.
Tonkin is the former name of the northern provinces of Vietnam and thus the eponymous body of water receiving the main river of "Tonkin".
The reddish-brown heavily silt-laden water gives the river its name. The Red River is notorious for its violent floods with its seasonally wide volume fluctuations. The delta is a major agricultural area of Vietnam with vast area devoted to rice. The land is protected by an elaborate network of dykes and
levees.
In the 19th century, the river was thought to be a lucrative trade route to China. It was the forced opening of the Red River to European commerce that prompted the wars between
France and the Vietnamese court (1883-1886), culminating in the conquest of Vietnam.
The
Black River and
Lo River are the Red River's two chief tributaries.
Settlements
China
Vietnam
See also
