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2.3.3 Plain Tract (Old Age) Erosion

In the plain tract, deposition causes a general rise in the river course while erosion may work to cut laterally into the sediments deposited by the river. In such a case, the meandering river scours the old stream deposits and produces a well-defined belt containing remnants of old meanders The river erodes the clay covering within this belt. Breaches may also form in the natural levee as flood waters scour this swale.


Images
Aerial view of a river showing excellent oxbow development, New Gunisson, Colorado.
Aerial view of a river showing excellent oxbow development, New Gunisson, Colorado.
Original picture from the Ward Collection
Aerial view of a river showing excellent oxbow development, New Gunisson, Colorado. 

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