The valley was long an area of habitation by various indigenous cultures, including the historic Ojibwe and Métis peoples. The river flows north through a wide ancient lake plain to Lake Winnipeg. The geography and seasonal conditions can produce devastating floods, with several recorded since the mid-20th century.

The Red River Valley has some of the richest soil and best farmland in the world. There are two reasons for this: (1) fertile (rich) soil had been brought down from Canada by the glaciers; and (2) a great deal of organicDecayed plants and animals matter had been left from Lake Agassiz.

The soils in the Red River valley developed under the natural vegetation of the tall grass prairie. The soil at this site is a Bearden silty clay loam. The Bearden soil series is somewhat poorly drained, dark colored, medium textured soil developed from calcareous, lacustrine clay.