How does meandering effect gradient

Meanders are produced when water in the stream channel erodes the sediments of an outer bend of a streambank and deposits this and other sediment on subsequent inner bends downstream.

This process reinforces the riffle-pool structure of a stream. As every angler knows, deep pools form on the outer bends of meanders, with low sloping point bars of accumulated gravel or cobble on the inside bends. In these pool and bend sections, one side of the channel is significantly deeper. Further downstream, moving out of the bend, the channel straightens, and the channel cross-section becomes more uniform through the riffle. Support our Natural Stream Restoration efforts to recreate stable channels based on the hydrology and hydraulics that shape natural channels.

Give with confidence today! Erosion in a stable stream can be minimal from year to year, but as a meander moves outward and becomes more looped, flows intensify on the outer bends. Eventually, the meander may be cut off from the main channel, forming an oxbow lake. Oxbows along the West Branch Ausable River near Lake Placid, along River Road, are easily visible on Google satellite views; they indicate the river's former path prior to the Ausable's logging era.

Oxbow lakes form when a meander grows so big and loopy that two bends of the river join together. Once the meander bends join, the flow of water reduces and sediment begins to build up.

Over time oxbow lakes will fill with sediment and can even disappear. The point where the two bends intersect is called a meander cut-off. Static map. The low-lying area on either side of a river is called a floodplain. The floodplain is covered with water when the river overflows it banks during spring floods or periods of heavy rain.

Stream channels can be straight or curved, deep and slow, or rapid and choked with coarse sediments. The cycle of erosion has some influence on the nature of a stream, but there are several other factors that are important.

Youthful streams that are actively down-cutting their channels tend to be relatively straight and are typically ungraded meaning that rapids and falls are common. As shown in Figures They also have steep gradients and steep and narrow V-shaped valleys — in some cases steep enough to be called canyons. In mountainous terrain, such as that in western Alberta and B. Braided streams can develop anywhere there is more sediment than a stream is able to transport. Oxbow lake formation in a meandering stream Phil Reiker, NPS Geologic Resources Division A meandering stream has a single channel that winds snakelike through its valley, so that the distance 'as the stream flows' is greater than 'as the crow flies.

You Might Also Like. Loading results Tags river meander landforms grd geology fluvial landforms.