Why are river meanders shallower on the inside and deeper on the outside?
(Vickie, Penrith, England) A: A meandering river is one that loops and curves through a wide valley or gently sloping plain. A curve is shallower on the inside (and deeper on the outside) because the water flows slower on the inside, which allows suspended sand to settle to the riverbed. As water flows downstream, the water on the surface of the river flows faster than that which drags along the bottom. Moreover, the water tends to move to the outside of the bend and erode it. See fourth photo. At the outside of the bend, water drops down and moves toward the center — like tea leaves as you stir tea in a teacup. The dropping water deepens the channel on the outside of the bend. The water near the bottom roils up bottom debris, and carries clay, sand, and pebbles along with it. The silt-laden water moves across the riverbed toward the inner bend and drops sediment in the slower-moving water there. That’s what makes the bend shallower in the inside (silt drops), and deeper on the outside
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