This levee provides a natural walkway. Levees can also be called dikes or embankments.
Feature: Ox-Bow Lakes
Ox-bow lakes are horseshoe-shaped lakes found on the flood plains of old rivers. They are formed by river erosion and deposition. Example: An example can be seen on the River Moy.
How an Ox-Bow Lake Forms
1 Erosion by hydraulic action and abrasion takes place on the outside banks of the meander. The neck of land between the meander begins to narrow.
2 During times of flood, the water has increased energy. It takes the shortest course by breaking through the neck and begins to flow in a new, more direct course.
3 Deposits of alluvium now build up and seal off both ends of the meander. The old section of the meander is now cut off from the main river and becomes known as an ox-bow lake. Over time, the lake may dry up.
During floods, river takes shortest course through the neck
Cut-off/Abandoned meander or ox-bow lake
Erosion makes the neck narrow
New, straighter river course
Areas of deposition 12. How an ox-bow lake forms 144 Areas of erosion