Meander
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A meander is a bend in a river, also known as an oxbow loop. This usage derives from the name of the Maeander River in Turkey. A stream or river flowing through a wide valley or flat plain will tend to form a meandering stream course as it alternatively erodes and deposites sediments along its course. The result is a snaking pattern as the stream meanders back and forth across its floodplain. When a meander gets cut off from the main stream body, an oxbow lake is formed.
Due to the way a meander is formed, the river flows faster on the outside edges of the meander and slower along the inside edge. We see deposition on the inner edge because the river, now moving slowly, cannot hold the weight of the sediment it is carrying.
If the region later undergoes tectonic uplift, the meandering stream will again resume downward erosion. The meandering pattern will remain as a deep valley known as an incised meander. Rivers in the Colorado Plateau and streams in the Ozark Plateau are noted for these incised meanders.
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