GENERAL GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -An oxbow lake starts out as a curve, or meander, in a river. A lake forms as the river finds a different, shorter, course. The meander becomes an oxbow lake along the side of the river. Oxbow lakes usually form in flat, low-lying plains close to where the river empties into another body of water.

Detailed explanation-2: -Oxbow lakes are stillwater lakes. This means that water does not flow into or out of them. There is no stream or spring feeding the lake, and it doesn’t have a natural outlet. Oxbow lakes often become swamps or bogs, and they often dry up as their water evaporates.

Detailed explanation-3: -Oxbow lakes are created through erosion and deposition processes that occur in rivers that run through soft landscapes. The curved snaking shape of a river is called a meander.

Detailed explanation-4: -Oxbow lakes When there is a very high discharge (usually during a flood), the river cuts across the neck, taking a new, straighter and shorter route. Deposition will occur to cut off the original meander, leaving a horseshoe-shaped oxbow lake.