Which mechanism MOST directly causes meandering stream formation on a gently sloping floodplain?

💡 Explanation

When flow encounters minor channel irregularities, variations in flow velocity and erosion rates are introduced because faster flow erodes more efficiently, causing further irregularities and channel migration. Therefore, meandering is caused by flow variations, rather than weathering, groundwater, or tectonics which operate on very different scales and timescales.

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