meander
Sign in to saveupright=1.2|thumb|A stream bed following a tilted valley. The maximum gradient is along the down-valley axis represented by a hypothetical straight coast channel. Meanders develop, which lengthen the course of the stream, decreasing the gradient. thumb|Meanders of the Cauto River|Rio Cauto at [[Guamo Embarcadero, Cuba]] thumb|The Jordan River, near the [[Dead Sea, 1937]]
AI overview
A meander is a winding, curved section of a stream or river that develops as the water follows a longer, more sinuous path instead of flowing straight downhill. Meanders are significant because they reduce the steepness of a stream's gradient, affecting how water flows and shapes the landscape over time.
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Article
20 sectionsContents
- Origin of term
- Governing physics
- Meander geometry
- Formation
- Stochastic theory
- Equilibrium theory
- Geomorphic and morphotectonic theory
- Associated landforms
- Cut bank
- Meander cutoff
- Incised meanders
- Oxbow lakes
- Point bar
- Scroll-bars
- Slip-off slope
- Derived quantities
- See also
- References and notes
- General and cited references
- External links
upright=1.2|thumb|A stream bed following a tilted valley. The maximum gradient is along the down-valley axis represented by a hypothetical straight coast channel. Meanders develop, which lengthen the course of the stream, decreasing the gradient. thumb|Meanders of the Cauto River|Rio Cauto at [[Guamo Embarcadero, Cuba]] thumb|The Jordan River, near the [[Dead Sea, 1937]]
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank or river cliff) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank which is typically a point bar. The result of this coupled erosion and sedimentation is the formation of a sinuous course as the channel migrates back and forth across the axis of a floodplain.