FORMATION OF AN OX-BOW LAKE

1. A river meander flows through an area of flat terrain.

2. Water flows at different speeds as it goes around bends in a meander.

On outside banks, the river moves the fastest, cause lateral erosion and undercuting to occur. This lead formation of a cliff.

3. Meanwhile, on the inside banks of corners in the river, the water flows more slowly, leading to sediment settling out of the water and building up on the inside banks.

This process is called deposition and lead to formation of a slip-off slope

4. Gradually, the inside banks are filled in with accumulated deposits, and the outside bends extend further and further, forming a wide loop in the river.

5.The loop continues to bend further and further, until a thin strip of land called a neck is created at the beginning and the end of the meander.

6. Eventually, the narrow neck is cut through by either gradual erosion When this happens, a new straighter channel is created, diverting the flow of the river from the loop into the new channel.

7. Deposition finally seals the cut-off from the river channel, leaving a horseshoe-shaped oxbow lake.

The water in the ox-bow lake will dry up due to infiltration or evaporation thus leaving a scar.