Meanders are sinuous, winding curves or loops in a river's course. They are typically found in the middle and lower courses of a river where the gradient is lower and the river has more lateral erosional and depositional processes.
Meanders form as a result of a combination of physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=erosion&did=807" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,807,'erosion');return false;" style="color:#009000;">erosion, physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=transportation&did=1605" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1605,'transportation');return false;" style="color:#009000;">transportation, and physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=deposition&did=999" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,999,'deposition');return false;" style="color:#009000;">deposition processes. As a river flows, it erodes the outer bank on the outside of a bend through a process called lateral physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=erosion&did=807" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,807,'erosion');return false;" style="color:#009000;">erosion, and deposits sediment on the inner bank through a process called physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=deposition&did=999" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,999,'deposition');return false;" style="color:#009000;">deposition. Over physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=time&did=924" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,924,'time');return false;" style="color:#009000;">time, this physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=causes&did=1139" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,1139,'cause');return false;" style="color:#009000;">causes the river to form a curved, meandering path.
Meanders are characterized by a few key features:
To understand meanders better, consider the following study guide:
Understanding meanders is essential for comprehending river physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=dynamics&did=2869" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,2869,'dynamics');return false;" style="color:#009000;">dynamics and landform physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=evolution&did=888" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,888,'evolution');return false;" style="color:#009000;">evolution. It also provides insights into the interactions between physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=rivers&did=803" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,803,'rivers');return false;" style="color:#009000;">rivers and their surrounding physics/high-school/rotational-motion-universal-gravitation?dictionary=environments&did=923" onclick="getAsistant(this,event,923,'environment');return false;" style="color:#009000;">environments.