
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 (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
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 lakes.
[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
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
.
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 Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...
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 or
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
.
[Ritter, Michael E., The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography, 2006, ]
References
{{Rivers, streams and springs
Fluvial landforms