A meander scar, occasionally meander scarp,Christopher G. Morris, Academic Press dictionary of science and technology, Gulf Professional Publishing, 1992, , page 1333 is a geological feature formed by the remnants of a

meander A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank ( cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex ban ...

ing water channel. They are characterized by "a crescentic cut in a bluff or valley wall, produced by...a meandering stream."Robert Latimer Bates, Julia A. Jackson, American Geological Institute, Dictionary of geological terms, Random House, Inc., 1984, , page 315 They are often formed during the creation of

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...

s.Ann Bowen, John Pallister, Understanding GCSE Geography, page 40, Heinemann, 2006, The term itself may refer alternatively to the actual cuts into the bank of a bluff, or to the general feature of a drying or dried

. Both uses, however, describe features of the same process. Meander scars are caused by the varying velocities of current within the river channel. Due to higher velocity current on the outer banks of the river through the bend, more

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

occurs causing the characteristic steep outer slopes. In certain habitats, if the scar has sufficient water, or as an oxbow lake fills with sediment, these areas may become

marshes A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The p ...

.Ritter, Michael E., The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography, 2006,

References

{{Rivers, streams and springs Fluvial landforms