What is a meandering river system?

Answer 1

Meandering Rivers

In contrast to braided rivers, meandering rivers typically only contain one channel that winds its way across the floodplain. As it flows, it deposits sediment on banks that lie on the insides of curves (point bar deposits), and erode the banks on the outside of curves.


Sacramento River, CA.

When the river floods, it deposits fine-grained material on the floodplain. As the floodplain is a lot larger than the channel, deposits of meandering river systems are dominated by fine-grained material; coarse-grained channel deposits tend to be relatively minor.

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As the channel migrates, parts of it may become abandoned and left behind as Oxbow Lakes. These lakes have a characteristic horseshoe shape that mimics a river bend. They become sites for deposition of fine-grained lake sediment.

Answer 2

A meandering river is one that changes its course naturally over time.

The rather long-winded answer above explains how it happens, mainly the through the deposition of silt on one side of a bend and erosion of the other side. A river needs a lot of silt to make it work, and a relatively flat flood plain rather than a steep valley. The Mississippi River is a famous example of a meandering river.

Answer 3

A meandering river system looks like a letter "S" when you view the river from the top. It is comparable to the movement of a snake.