The winding of a river back and forth within its
banks. Erosional activity of moving water creates meanders and the precise
number of switch backs from left to right looking downstream depends
upon the width of the river, the speed of the current and the substrate
over which the river flows (see: Luna Leopold’s A View of the
River for an excellent analysis of the physics of meanderings). In very
large rivers, ox bow lakes are a common feature of the landscape due
to severe meandering and periodic floods that cut off the meander with
deposits of soil between the loops of river, creating a standing body
of water in the process. In most freestone rivers, meanders are common,
while in limestone situations, meanders are less predicable and may
not be a regular feature, due to slow currents and low volumes of water.
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