why do rivers move in a serpentine motion?

Question

i didnt say they should travel in a straight line. im saying they never do. its always a distinct serpentine motion and most of the time very exaggerated one.

Answer 1

Look at the Mississippi River -- all those bends and oxbow lakes are not because the river is following the path of least resistance. It's a different phenomenon: Any river will have some irregularities along the shoreline (this is where the path of least resistance does have some effect). But once a river starts cutting into a shoreline on one side, the velocity of the river gets faster on that side, cutting even further, while the velocity on the opposite side becomes slower, causing some of the silt in the water to settle out. You start to see sand bars on the inside of the bend, and deeper channels on the outside of the bend. This process is obviously self-reinforcing -- the more the river bends, the more the speed differential between the inside and outside bends, and the more the outside shoreline continues to erode. Eventually, some of these bends become so windy, that even a small surge in the river level is enough to take the water on a straighter course (back to the path of least resistance--a straight line), and the bend can get stranded, or landlocked, as an oxbow lake. That usually indicates a very old river.

Answer 2

As people have noted, water will take the path of least resistance around topographical features. But rivers also snake and bend due to erosion. As rivers take the path of least resistance, they turn, but doing so, they begin taking off pieces of land when they hit those corners. This can make new "cuts" into the land, and change the river's path (and perhaps even make isolated bodies of water sometimes called "oxbow lakes."
Further the amount of meandering depends upon the volume and speed of the river. Slower rivers will meander more; faster, more voluminous rivers may run over terrain more quickly.

Answer 3

the water in the river will take the route of less Resistance, that is why rivers move in the serpentine motion.

Answer 4

Water like most moving things follows the path of least Resistance. That doesn't always follow a straight line.

Answer 5

rivers flowing in mountainous terrain do not move in a serpentine motion like the Mississiippi River where the terrain is flat.

Answer 6

This is he beauty of natural processes. They proceed along the path of least resistance. Water in the river finds its way.It finds the path which is a reducing in level all the time. Thus it ends up meandering. So meandering or changing direction suiting a situation is natural!Can we apply this to our own lives??

Answer 7

rivers meander because they move silt from their source to their mouth, and therefore the slope of the river is becoming less steep. Rivers, inherently want to flow as slowly as possible.

Answer 8

Because they actually follow the "lay of the land" (or the low spots), which, in nature, are not lined up in straight rows.