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L37 Incised meanders. Goosenecks, San Juan River. Utah, USA
Position:
N37° 10.452'
W109° 55.646'
Elevation:
4971'/ 1515m
Image format:
MF 35mm
INCISED MEANDERS
A MEANDER is a horse-shoe shaped bend in the course of a river.
Normally, these develop as a river migrates across a valley bottom
FLOOD PLAIN, as these meanders did, not too long ago. If a lock
of the earth's crust is forced upwards by EARTH MOVEMENTS, rivers
flow faster and begin to erode downwards with more energy. This
may lead to the meanders being deepened and cut into the river's
course. These are called INCISED MEANDERS. They are common in
the Colorado Plateau area of the USA. The plateau has been forced
upwards over millions of years causing all the rivers to cut deep
canyons like the GRAND CANYON.
These particular meanders are called GOOSENECKS. Guess why! Sometimes
a river may erode through the neck of the incised meander to produce
a NATURAL BRIDGE. Like that in image L3 in the regolith.com collection.
Less detail
Image Trail:
L2 Natural Bridge. Natural Bridges National Monument. Utah, USA
L4 Cataract Canyon, Colorado River, Canyonlands National Park. Utah,
USA
L38 Incised meanders. Goosenecks, San Juan River. Utah, USA
L39 Incised meanders. Goosenecks, San Juan River. Utah, USA
L76 The Rainbow Bridge, Lake Powell, Utah, USA
Links:
www.desertusa.com/gc/rainbow/rainbow.html
http://geography.com.sg/rivers/index.html
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