Past Flooding Events and a 400+ Year Ring-Width Chronology of Bur Oak Along The Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota

Abstract

A paleoflood record of the United States portion of the Red River of the North was created utilizing rings of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.). Emphasis was placed on the flood of 1826. Samples were collected from standing trees and historic log buildings. All samples were observed for flood rings and measurements were taken for 90% of physical samples. Flood rings for 1826 were disproportionately found at one specific site near Shelly, MN. Ring width measurements were taken from 179 physical samples and combined into a ring-width chronology spanning from modern times back to 1601. The results suggest that the flood of 1826 was not as severe in the United States as in Manitoba. Additional sampling from log buildings and subfossil logs could help further refine the extent of the 1826 flood, as well as extend the paleoflood record and ring-width chronology.