Meander Stream
by Robert Bales
Title
Meander Stream
Artist
Robert Bales
Medium
Photograph - Photo
Description
A meander stream found in Southern Oregon while we were geocaching.
A meander, in general, is a bend in a sinuous watercourse or river. A meander forms when moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley, and the inner part of the river has less energy and deposits silt. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the inside. The result is a snaking pattern as the stream meanders back and forth across its down-valley axis. When a meander gets cut off from the main stream, an oxbow lake forms. Over time meanders migrate downstream, sometimes in such a short time as to create civil engineering problems for local municipalities attempting to maintain stable roads and bridges.
There is not yet full consistency or standardization of scientific terminology used to describe watercourses. A variety of symbols and schemes exist. Parameters based on mathematical formulae or numerical data vary as well, depending on the database used by the theorist. Unless otherwise defined in a specific scheme "meandering" and "sinuosity" here are synonymous and mean any repetitious pattern of bends, or waveforms. In some schemes, "meandering" applies only to rivers with exaggerated circular loops or secondary meanders; that is, meanders on meanders.
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Uploaded
August 31st, 2016
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Viewed 881 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/11/2024 at 8:31 PM
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Comments (8)
Kathleen K Parker
I thought I had commented on this,but I guess I read the description instead. Sorry, Bob! I love this meandering stream and the info about why it meanders. Very pretty scene, too! :) kk
Robert Bales replied:
Thanks so much for the very nice comments and I am so glad you enjoyed the image!!