Earth:Cut bank
A cut bank, also known as a river cliff or river-cut cliff, is the outside bank of a curve (meander) in a water channel (stream), which is continually undergoing erosion.[1] Cut banks occur on the outer side of meander bends, opposite the point bar or slip-off slope on the inner side.[2] They are shaped much like a small cliff, and are formed as the stream collides with the river bank.[3] It is the opposite of a point bar, which is an area of deposition of material eroded upstream in a cut bank.[4]
Typically, cut banks are steep and may be nearly vertical.[5][6] Erosion can undercut a cut bank and cause masses of bank material, trees, and vegetation to collapse or slide into the river; flooding and bank erosion can also damage nearby property and structures.[7][8] Given enough time, the combination of erosion along cut banks and deposition along point bars can lead to the formation of an oxbow lake.[4]
Not only are cut banks steep and unstable, they are also the area of a stream where the water is flowing the fastest and often deeper.[9] The greater velocity and energy of flow along the outer bend produces erosion of the cut bank.[10]
See also
- Earth:Bank erosion – Marginal wear of a watercourse
- Earth:Point bar – Landform related to streams and rivers
- Earth:Slip-off slope – Depositional landform on the inside convex bank of a meandering river
References
- ↑ Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak
- ↑ "Chapter 5: Rivers". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. pp. 240–241. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/12-090-the-environment-of-the-earths-surface-spring-2007/ab22aafd99c8d0a8bf36882035058efa_earthsurface_5.pdf.
- ↑ "Find-A-Feature: Meander". U.S. Geological Survey. https://www.usgs.gov/educational-resources/find-feature-meander.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Fluvial Features—Meandering Stream". U.S. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/meandering-stream.htm.
- ↑ Johnson, Scot. "Recreational Boating Impact Investigations: Upper Mississippi River System, Pool 4, Red Wing, Minnesota". National Biological Survey, Environmental Management Technical Center. p. 9. https://www.umesc.usgs.gov/documents/reports/1994/94s004.pdf.
- ↑ Howle, James F.; Alpers, Charles N.; Bawden, Gerald W.; Bond, Sandra. "Quantifying the Eroded Volume of Mercury-Contaminated Sediment Using Terrestrial Laser Scanning at Stocking Flat, Deer Creek, Nevada County, California, 2010–13". U.S. Geological Survey. p. 15. https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2015/5179/sir20155179.pdf.
- ↑ Scott, Kevin M. (1982). Erosion and Sedimentation in the Kenai River, Alaska (Report). Professional Paper. U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 26–28. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1235/report.pdf. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ Stogner, Robert W. Sr. (2000). Trends in Precipitation and Streamflow and Changes in Stream Morphology in the Fountain Creek Watershed, Colorado, 1939–99 (Report). Water-Resources Investigations Report. U.S. Geological Survey. pp. 1–2. https://pubs.usgs.gov/wri/wri00-4130/pdf/wrir00-4130.pdf. Retrieved 21 July 2026.
- ↑ Bingman, Judy Mae. "Protect streambanks with erosion-control practices". University of Illinois Extension. https://extension.illinois.edu/news-releases/protect-streambanks-erosion-control-practices.
- ↑ "Course Changes of the Mississippi River". U.S. National Park Service. https://www.nps.gov/vick/learn/nature/river-course-changes.htm.
- Tarbuck, E. J. and F. K. Lutgens. Earth, 7th Edition. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 2002. pp. 279, 286.
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