A cut bank is an erosional feature of streams. Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind A stream is a body of Water with a current, confined within a bed and stream-banks Cut banks are found in abundance along mature or meandering streams, they are located on the outside of a stream bend, known as a meander. A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse also known as an oxbow loop or simply an Oxbow. They are shaped much like a small cliff, and are formed by the erosion of soil as the stream collides with the river bank. In Geography and Geology, a cliff is a significant vertical or near vertical rock exposure As opposed to a point bar, it is an area of erosion rather than deposition. A point bar is a depositional feature of Streams. Point bars are found in abundance in mature or meandering streams Erosion is the carrying away or displacement of solids ( Sediment, Soil, rock and other particles usually by the agents of currents such as wind
Typically, cut banks are nearly vertical and often expose the roots of nearby plant life. Often, particularly during periods of high rainfall and higher-than average water levels, trees and poorly placed buildings can fall into the stream due to mass wasting events. Mass wasting, also known as slope movement, is the geomorphic process by which Soil, Regolith, and rock move downslope under Given enough time, the combination of erosion along cut banks and deposition along point bars can lead to the formation of an oxbow lake. An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake water body formed when a wide Meander from the mainstem of a River is cut off to create a lake
Not only are cut banks steep and unstable, they are also the area of a stream where the water is flowing the fastest and the deepest, making them rather dangerous. Geologically speaking, this is known as an area of high-energy.
Material eroded here is deposited downstream in point bars. A point bar is a depositional feature of Streams. Point bars are found in abundance in mature or meandering streams
References
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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