A STUDY OF RIVER MEANDERS ON THE 

 MIDDLE ROUGE' 



DARRELL H. DAVIS 

 Detroit Central High School 



Given a stream flowing on a flat surface of homogeneous material, 

 will it meander ? If so, will the meanders develop at once, or will 

 they be formed only after considerable time has elapsed ? The answer 

 to these questions was actually encountered in a millpond which had 

 silted up for many years till its floor was level. Then the dam broke 

 causing the river to flow in a narrow channel through the deposits. 

 It is hoped that the behavior of the stream under these conditions 

 may shed some light on the general question of the origin of meanders. 



The conception generally held is, that the stage in the lives of 

 rivers when they meander in broad arcs is reached late, when they 

 flow sluggishly, as swift streams are less easily turned aside than those 

 which flow less impetuously. 



This supposes a turning aside from a straight course due to irregu- 

 larities or obstructions in the path of the stream. The breaking out 

 of ditches into meanders is held to support this view. This view of 

 the origin of meanders is the one stated by Geikie, Russell, Davis, 

 ChamberHn and Salisbury, and other authorities. It is also held 

 in some quarters that meandering is a direct result of loading of 

 the stream and deposition of the sediment.^ 



This paper concerns itself with a discussion of an actual case of 

 meander development and shows that meanders may develop in a 

 swift stream, that they are not always the result of a long process; 

 but may develop immediately, and that inequahties of bed or obstruc- 

 tions in the path of the stream are not necessary for their formation. 



The river on which meander development was studied was the 

 Middle Rouge, one of the three upper branches of the River Rouge, 



1 This case of meandering was discovered when on a field trip with Professor 

 M. S. W. Jefferson of the Ypsilanti State Normal. 



2 Griggs, Bull. A?n. Geog. Soc, Vol XXXVIII, pp. 168-76. 



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