| Abstract: | Air photo interpretation and field survey were used to examine rates and patterns of planform change over the last 40 years on an 80 km reach of the Luangwa River, Zambia. The river, a tributary of the Zambezi, is a 100–200 m wide, medium sinuosity sand‐bed river (sinuosity index 1·84). High rates of channel migration (<33 m a?1) and cutoffs on meandering sections are frequent. Some meandering reaches, however, have remained relatively stable. A form of anastomosing with anabranches up to 14 km in length is also a characteristic. Patterns of meander development vary between bends but all can be described in relation to traditional geomorphic models; change occurs by translation, rotation, double‐heading, concave bank bench formation and cutoff causing river realignment. At the local scale spatial variability in bank resistance, induced by floodplain sedimentology, controls rate of bank erosion, and valley‐side channel ‘deflection’ is also apparent. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
