Meander

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.
Meanders of the Rio Cauto at Guamo Embarcadero, Cuba
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.[1][2]

The zone within which a meandering stream periodically shifts its channel is known as a meander belt. It typically ranges from 15 to 18 times the width of the channel. Over time, meanders migrate downstream, sometimes in such a short time as to create civil engineering challenges for local municipalities attempting to maintain stable roads and bridges.[1][2]

The degree of meandering of the channel of a river, stream, or other watercourse is measured by its sinuosity. The sinuosity of a watercourse is the ratio of the length of the channel to the straight line down-valley distance. Streams or rivers with a single channel and sinuosities of 1.5 or more are defined as meandering streams or rivers.[1][3]

  1. ^ a b c Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl Jr., and J.A. Jackson, J.A., eds. (2005) Glossary of Geology (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. ISBN 0-922152-76-4
  2. ^ a b Charlton, R., 2007. Fundamentals of fluvial geomorphology. Routledge, New York, New York. 234 pp. ISBN 0-415-33453-5
  3. ^ Leopold, L.B., Wolman, M.G., Wolman, M.G. and Wolman, M.G., 1957. River Channel Patterns: Braided, Meandering, and Straight. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper no. 282B, US Government Printing Office, Washington DC., 47 pp.