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🏞️ River Meander Erosion (2D)

A top-down 2D Canvas simulation of a river channel migrating by curvature-driven bank erosion: point bars build on the inside of bends, cut banks erode on the outside, and tight loops pinch off into oxbow lakes.

Geology & Earth Science2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted💧 Water 🌍 Earth ⇄ 3D version

⚙ Under the hood

Watch a river channel wind and migrate in top-down view as curvature-driven erosion undercuts the outer bank of each bend while sediment builds a point bar on the inner bank. Adjust erosion rate and initial sinuosity to speed up meander growth, and watch tight loops pinch off into oxbow lakes over simulated centuries.

river meanderfluvial erosionoxbow lakegeomorphologysinuosity2D

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install