Meandrering

Meandering refers to the sinuous, winding course of a river or stream. This pattern of movement is a natural geomorphic process driven by the flow of water across a landscape. Rivers tend to meander when they flow through relatively flat, unconsolidated terrain. The process begins with an initial irregularity in the riverbed, such as a small bump or a curve. As water flows, it encounters this irregularity, causing the current to accelerate on the outer bank and slow on the inner bank.

This differential flow leads to erosion on the outer bank and deposition on the inner bank. The outer bank is undercut, causing it to collapse and widen the river channel. Simultaneously, sediment carried by the water settles on the inner bank, building it up. Over time, this continuous process of erosion and deposition exaggerates the initial curve, causing the river to bend and sway.

Meandering rivers are characterized by a series of alternating bends, known as meanders, and straight sections, called reaches. The wavelength of meanders, the distance between successive bends, and the amplitude, the width of the bend, are influenced by factors such as flow velocity, sediment load, and the type of material the river is flowing through. Meandering is a dynamic process; rivers can migrate across their floodplains, sometimes cutting off meanders to form oxbow lakes when the neck of a meander is breached. This natural process plays a significant role in shaping river valleys and floodplains.