meanders and oxbow lakes

• meander -

  1. straight river channel- water avoids obstructions
  2. slower and faster water movement as river becomes more sinuous
  3. riffles and pools change rivers speed and depth
  4. pools are deeper, riffles are shallower with greater turbulance
• meander -

  5. river fastest on outside, increased erosive power , undercuts to form gradually retreating river cliffs

  6. slowest on the inside bend causing deposition

  7. heliocoidal flow transfers sediments from cliffs to slopes in a corkscrew movement
• ox bow lake -

  8. meanders pronounce over time and neck narrows

  9. during flooding river has greater energy and chooses the shorter path through the neck, deposition occurs at the river sides and separates the oxbow lake