Meander cutoff
![Animation of the formation of an oxbow lake](/Images/godic/202501/07/OxbowAnimation0954.gif")
![View along the former Mississippi River riverbed at the Tennessee/Arkansas state line near Reverie, Tennessee (2007)](/Images/godic/202501/07/Reverie_TN_08_former_MS_river_S0954.jpg")
A meander cutoff occurs when a meander bend in a river is breached by a chute channel that connects the two closest parts of the bend. This causes the flow to abandon the meander and to continue straight downslope. Cutoffs are a natural part of the evolution of a meandering river, and have also been used to artificially shorten the length of meandering rivers for navigation. The stagnant part of the river will sometimes form an oxbow lake.