Oxbow Lake | Geology - Britannica

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oxbow lake, small lake located in an abandoned meander loop of a river channel. It is generally formed as a river cuts through a meander neck to shorten its course, causes the old channel to be rapidly blocked off, and then migrates away from the lake. If only one loop is cut off, the lake formed will be crescent shaped, whereas if more than one loop is cut off, the lake will be serpentine or winding. Eventually, oxbow lakes are silted up to form marshes and finally meander scars, marked by different vegetation or the absence of cultivation. The lakes commonly are filled with clay-sized sediment that is less easy to erode than surrounding material and thus may cause a more complex meandering system in its parent stream.