Amazon River Meanders — Jungle Oxbow Geometry
899.00 د.إ
The Amazon river system in Madre de Dios photographed from 800 metres — the river’s oxbow lakes and meander cutoffs creating a sequence of perfect crescents and circles against the unbroken primary jungle canopy.
Description
The Amazon’s lower-gradient tributaries exhibit some of the most dramatic river meander geometry on earth — the progressive sinuosity of meanders eventually produces oxbow lakes when the neck of a meander loop is cut through during flood events. Aerial photography at 800 metres reveals the complete life cycle of Amazon meanders simultaneously: the active sinuous channel, the neck-cut zones where new oxbow formation is in progress, and the completed crescentic oxbow lakes at various stages of vegetative succession from open water through floating meadow to closed jungle canopy. This photograph captures a sequence of five oxbow lakes in various stages of completion, the active channel threading between them. The dark water of the Amazon river system — stained by dissolved organic matter from the jungle — contrasts strongly with the pale reflective surface of the oxbow lakes at the angle of morning light.
