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

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 former channel becomes isolated from streamflow and forms an oxbow lake seen on the right of the figure.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

When this happens, another oxbow lake will form like the others in the photo.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

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

The old channel is now silted up at both ends and becomes a crescentic lagoon, or oxbow lake, which fills gradually to an arc-shaped shallow depression.

From The Elements of Geology by Norton, William Harmon