oxbow lake

American  

[ahks-boh layk] / ˈɑksˌboʊ ˈleɪk /

noun

plural

oxbow lakes

1. Physical Geography. a bow-shaped lake formed when a relatively wide curve or meander in the course of a river is cut off as the river takes a more direct course.

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oxbow lake Scientific  

1. A crescent-shaped lake formed when a river changes its course and cuts through the strip of land in the middle of an oxbow, abandoning its previous course and isolating the water in the oxbow.

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Example Sentences

This dissolved iron eventually reached a river system that included an oxbow lake, which is an abandoned river channel.

From Science Daily • Apr. 23, 2026

The trail threads a narrow gap between the lake and the river, which makes sense, given that an oxbow lake is actually a remnant of a river bend.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 24, 2022

The Rincon on the entrenched Colorado River at Lake Powell is an incised oxbow lake.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Once drawdown is complete, officials said last week RLB Contracting, Inc. of Port Lavaca, Texas, will perform hydraulic dredging and construction of a containment dike in the South Flats of the oxbow lake.

From Washington Times • Aug. 31, 2014

Near the middle Neosho station, a large population was present in an oxbow lake that is frequently flooded by the river.

From Fish Populations, Following a Drought, in the Neosho and Marais des Cygnes Rivers of Kansas by Deacon, James Everett