Rivers forms many outstanding features throughout their course. In thi...
River capture (When a river or stream from one drainage system erodes through a land divide and acquires the flow from another drainage system) happens in upper course. Meanders are formed in the middle course.
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Rivers forms many outstanding features throughout their course. In thi...
Rivers and Their Features
Rivers are dynamic natural systems that shape landscapes as they flow from their source to their mouth. They form various outstanding features at different stages of their course. Let's examine the given pairs to determine their correctness.
1. River Capture: Middle Course
River capture, also known as river piracy or stream capture, refers to the phenomenon where one river diverts the flow of another river. This occurs when the headwaters of one river erode through a watershed and capture the headwaters of another river flowing in a different direction. River capture is typically observed in the middle course of a river, where it has enough erosive power to cut through the intervening land.
2. Meanders: Upper Course
Meanders are large bends or loops in a river's course. They form as a result of the erosion and deposition processes that take place along the course of a river. In the upper course, where the river has a steep gradient and high velocity, it tends to erode vertically, creating V-shaped valleys and rapids. Meanders, on the other hand, are characteristic of the middle and lower courses of a river, where the gradient is gentler and the river flows more slowly, allowing for lateral erosion and the formation of meandering channels.
3. Ox-bow Lakes: Lower Course
Ox-bow lakes are crescent-shaped bodies of water that form when a meandering river cuts off a meander loop. Over time, the continuous erosion and deposition processes cause the neck of the meander loop to become narrow, eventually leading to the formation of a new channel. This results in the isolation of the meander loop, which then becomes an ox-bow lake. Ox-bow lakes are most commonly found in the lower course of a river, where meanders are more prevalent.
Correct Pairing
Based on the explanations above, we can conclude that the correct pairing is:
3. Ox-bow lakes: Lower course
The other pairs, river capture in the middle course and meanders in the upper course, are incorrect.
Hence, the correct answer is option 'C' - 3 only.