An oxbow is a very special kind of river bend, or meander, where the river nearly doubles back on itself. As you can see, the river has nearly cut through the land in the distance. This narrow part of the bend is called the oxbow neck.

In time it is likely that the river will cut through the neck, and then the part of the river nearest to us will simply be filled by standing water, while the river flows through the neck.

The area of still water is known as an oxbow lake. In Australia, oxbow lakes of this kind are called billabongs.