10 Facts about Meanders

Post On: December 31, 2017
By: Andi

The interesting geographical facts about one of series of regular sinuous curve, bends, loops, turns, or windings in the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse will find on 10 facts about meander. Meander produced by a stream or rover swinging from side to side  as it flows across its floodplain channel within a valley. Erosion of sediment from the outside concave bank and their  deposition on an inside convex is the formation of sinuous course. The more detail of information will be presented below.

Facts about Meander 1: Origin of word

The term of meander derives from Meander River located in present-day Turkey and known to the Ancient Greeks as Maiandros.

Facts about Meander 2: Formation

The pattern of meander shaped by natural process. Elizabet A. Wood said that ‘…this process of making meanders seems to be a self-intensifying process…in which greater curvature results in more erosion of the bank, which results in greater curvature…’

Facts about Meander

Facts about Meander 3: Stochastic Theory

Based on article on the internet, the popular statement of Stochastic theory is that ‘the meander train is assumed to be result of the stochastic fluctuation of the direction of flow due the random presence of  direction-changing obstacles in the river path.

Facts about Meander 4: Equilibrium Theory

Based on the equilibrium theory, the article on wikipedia stated that meanders decrease the stream gradient until an equilibrium between the erodibility of the terrain and the transport capacity of the stream is reached. A big number of water descending must give up potential energy, which, given the same velocity at the last of the drop as at beginning, is removed by interaction with the material of the same bed.

Facts about Meander 5: Geomorphic and Morphotectonic Theory

Geomorphic theory describes about the surface structure of terrain while morphotectonic explains about the deeper, or tectonic structure of the rock.

Facts about Meander 6: Meander Cutoff

A lake that occupies an cutoff meander is known as oxbow lake. Cutoff meanders that have cut downward into the underlying bedrock are known in general as incised cutoff meanders.

Canyon Meander in Serbia

Facts about Meander 7: Incised Meanders

Incised Meander is  the meanders of a stream or rive which has cut its bed down into the bedrock. The incised meander can be found in Glen Canyon, United States.

Facts about Meander 8: Oxbow Lakes

Oxbow lake also recognised as cutoff lakes formed by the normal process of fluvial meandering. After the cutoff meander formed, the river flows into its end from the river builds small delta, and eventually it will result oxbow lakes filled.

Facts about Meander 9: Point Bar

Meander bar or also known as a point bar, formed by the slow addition of individual accretions of noncohesive sediment in the inside bank of a meander by the accompanying migration of channel toward its outer bank.

Facts about Meander

Facts about Meander 10: Scroll-bars

The scroll-bars shaped by continuous lateral migration of a meander loop that makes an asymetrical ridge and swale topography on the inside of the bend.

We have dished the interesting facts about meander, do you enjoy reading it?