Which of the following statements regarding river meanders is/are correct?
- 1. It is a U-shaped bend in a river.
- 2. An extremely tight meander is called a gooseneck; it is likely to become a cutoff, or oxbow lake, after a flood.
- 3. Tectonic uplift can cause a river to continue downcutting along its meandering course, producing incised or entrenched meanders.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
1 only
1 and 2 only
2 and 3 only
1, 2 and 3
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This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-1 – 2024
2. A tightly curved meander loop with a narrow neck is often termed a gooseneck or incised meander loop. During high flow events (floods), the river can erode through the narrowest part of the neck, creating a new, shorter channel (a cutoff) and isolating the former meander loop as an oxbow lake.
3. If tectonic forces cause the land surface to be uplifted relative to the river’s base level, while the river continues to flow in its established meandering course, the river will erode downwards (downcut) into the uplifting bedrock. This process creates incised or entrenched meanders, which are meanders cut deeply into the landscape with steep valley walls.