North Dakotans know all too well the devastation flooding can cause. With multiple river valleys that have seen waters reach catastrophic heights, the memories of floods from years prior still linger in our minds. One of the most sobering yet fascinating memorials to these disasters is in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a city that has seen more than its fair share of high waters, and you can visit it yourself today.

This bridge in Grand Forks, North Dakota has seen some horrific levels of flooding in the past, like during this photo from 1997 when the worst flood in the city's history took place.
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Today, you can visit that same bridge and see the Flood Memorial Monument — an obelisk marking the record-breaking floods that have happened right along this river.
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The structure is marked with the year of each flood and the peak height they reached, the very top marking the height of the 1997 flood that displaced thousands of people and caused millions of dollars in damages.
ShanOC/Tripadvisor

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While standing next to the marker, you can get a sense of just how high and raging the floodwaters were during these years and compare it to the beautiful scenery around the bridge now.
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But even these days, the marker indicates ongoing flooding. Most of the time you can walk right up to it and sit on one of the benches around it, but there are times when it is surrounded by water yet again.
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This has happened as recently as October of 2019 after the heavy snowfall and rainy season that has happened, giving the obelisk an ominous reflection on the high waters around it.
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If you can make a visit to this memorial, you definitely should. Though it may bring back somber memories, it is an important reminder and shares part of North Dakota's fascinating history. It's free to visit and located along a lovely path — when it's not covered in water.
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This monument is part of Memorial Park in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It’s a public park and free to visit. Have you ever visited this monument before? Do you remember any of the floods marked on it?

Here is a list of the worst disasters in North Dakota’s history that you might know of, too.

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