Meanders

Governing physics

Meanders are a result of the interaction of water flowing through a curved channel with the underlying stream bed. This produces helicoidal flow, in which water moves from the outer to the inner bank along the bed, then flows back to the outer bank near the surface of the stream. This in turn increases carrying capacity for sediments on the outer bank and reduces it on the inner bank, so that sediments are eroded from the outer bank and deposited on the inner bank of the next downstream meander.