Formation
Meander formation is a result of natural factors and processes. The waveform configuration of a stream is constantly changing. Fluid flows around a bend in a vortex. Once a channel begins to follow a sinusoidal path, the amplitude and concavity of the loops increase dramatically due to the effect of helical flow sweeping dense eroded material towards the inside of the bend, and leaving the outside of the bend unprotected and therefore vulnerable to accelerated erosion, forming a positive feedback loop. In the words of Elizabeth A. Wood:
"... this process of making meanders seems to be a self-intensifying process ... in which greater curvature results in more erosion of the bank, which results in greater curvature ...."
The cross-current along the floor of the channel is part of the secondary flow and sweeps dense eroded material towards the inside of the bend. The cross-current then rises to the surface near the inside and flows towards the outside, forming the helical flow. The greater the curvature of the bend, and the faster the flow, the stronger is the cross-current and the sweeping.
Due to the conservation of angular momentum the speed on the inside of the bend is faster than on the outside.
Since the flow velocity is diminished, so is the centrifugal pressure. However, the pressure of the super-elevated column prevails, developing an unbalanced gradient that moves water back across the bottom from the outside to the inside. The flow is supplied by a counter-flow across the surface from the inside to the outside. This entire situation is very similar to the Tea leaf paradox. This secondary flow carries sediment from the outside of the bend to the inside making the river more meandering.
As to why streams of any size become sinuous in the first place, there are a number of theories, not necessarily mutually exclusive.
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