Name ___________________
PS/ES Per.____
Date ____________________
Mr. Landsman
Background: Meanders are bends in the path of a stream. Meanders
widen because the faster water flows around the outside of the bend and
carries material away. Slower water along the inside bend deposits
material because of its decreased velocity. This process forms a cut bank
on the outside bend and a point bar on the inside bend (see vocab page).
1. Erosion and deposition on a meander
Using the diagram above, complete the following questions:
1) Draw an arrow and label the outside bend of a meander.
2) Draw an arrow and label the inside bend of a meander.
3) Draw an arrow and label an area where erosion might occur on one
meander.
4) Why is erosion occurring on this part of the meander?
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7) Draw an arrow and label an area where deposition might occur on
one meander.
2. Formation of an oxbow lake
Flow
1) Look carefully at the photo above. Draw arrows to label the following:
A)
B)
C)
D)
E)
meander neck
inside bend of a meander
outside bend of a meander
site where erosion might be occurring
site where deposition might be occurring.
2) Look at the diagrams and the writing on the next page. They explain
how an oxbow lake is formed, but they are mixed up.
Decide which piece of writing goes with which diagram. Cut out the
diagrams and the writing. Paste them in the correct order so each
diagram has its matching caption. Use a clean page of printer paper.
Include a heading. Please clean up your mess.
2. Formation of an oxbow lake (cont)
The water flows around the
Over time, deposits of sediment build
meander. Erosion occurs on the
up by the backwater. The backwater is
outside bend and deposition occurs
eventually cut off, leaving a kidneyon the inside bend.
shaped oxbow lake behind.
The water breaks across the neck of The water is flowing the fastest on the
the meander. For a short time, water outside bend. Over time, the meander
flows around the backwater and
becomes an S shape. A thin strip of
across the neck of the meander.
land called a neck is created at the
beginning and the end of the meander.
3) On the cut-out diagrams, label the following features:
- oxbow lake (duh)
- backwater
- neck of a meander
4) What do you think will happen to the oxbow lake over time? Why?
Answer on pasted sequence page.