Last Updated 20 Jun 2022
The Characteristics and Formation of Meanders
Meanders are sinuous bends in a river's middle and lower courses. In low flow conditions, alternating pools and riffles are formed along the river bed. The river channel is deeper in pools so it has greater energy and more erosive power. Energy is lost as the river flows over a riffle because of friction. These cause the river's flow to become uneven and maximum flow to be concentrated on one side of the river, causing lateral erosion on one side, creating an outer concave bank.
Deposition takes place on the other side of the bend, creating a convex bank. The cross-section of a meander is asymmetrical. The outer bank forms a river cliff or a bluff with a deep pool close to the bank, mainly because of the fast flow, hydraulic action and abrasion. The inner bank is a gently sloping deposit of sand and gravel, called a point bar. Meanders are maintained by a surface flow of water across to the concave outer bank with a balancing subsurface return flow back to the convex inner bank.
This corkscrew-like movement of water is called helicoidal flow. In this way, eroded material from the outer bank is transported away and deposited on the inner bank. The combination of erosion and deposition exaggerates the bends until large meanders are formed. Sometimes, oxbow lakes are formed when the neck of the loop of a meander is broken through, and the new cut eventually becomes the main channel, leaving the formed channel sealed off by deposition.
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A meander is a curve in a river. Slip off slopes are formed on the inside of the bend from deposition and river cliffs are formed on the outside of the bend from erosion. Eventually meanders turn into ox-bow lakes when two outside bends erode together making a shorter route for the water.
Meanders are formed by erosion and occur where a river has worn away its banks. On the inside bend of a meander, the water flows more slowly. There is normally deposition on the inside bend. This is because the sediment is too heavy for the river to carry.
What are 2 synonyms for meander?drift.ramble.roam.snake.stray.stroll.traipse.twine.
Meanders are formed in the middle course of a river. As the river gains more velocity, the water is pushed to the outside of the river causing more erosion on the outside bend, which forms a steep river cliff. This is achieved through processes like hydraulic action and abrasion. How is a meander formed ks3?
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