What is a lake formed by the cut off meander of a river called?

Correct answer: Oxbow lake

The direct answer is B, oxbow lake. A river often follows a winding path called a meander. When erosion cuts the outer bends and deposition builds up the inner bends, two parts of the river may become close. During high flow, the river can cut across the narrow neck, leaving the old curved loop separated from the main channel. This abandoned loop becomes an oxbow lake. Option A, a lagoon, is a coastal water body partly separated from the sea, so it does not describe a cut-off river bend. Option B is correct because an oxbow lake is precisely an abandoned meander. Option C, a waterfall, is a sudden vertical drop of flowing water, not a lake. Option D, a glacier, is a moving mass of ice and is not a lake at all. The name “oxbow” helps because the curved lake resembles an oxbow, the U-shaped frame used with an ox. Memory cue: cut-off meander = oxbow lake.