meandering rivers
Snaking through valleys
Meandering rivers are rivers that wind in serpentine curves across relatively flat terrain, looping back and forth rather than flowing in a straight path.
The bends form naturally as water erodes the outer banks and deposits sediment on the inner banks: The meandering river had carved oxbow lakes across the floodplain.
The term appears in geography and geology to describe this specific river pattern.
- oxbow lakesSevered river meander pools
- bendCurve or flex
- channel migrationRiver relocating its course
- erosionGradual wearing away
- bankPlace holding deposits
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