What is the shape of oxbow lakes?

Correct answer: Like a horseshoe or bow

Direct answer: Option C, like a horseshoe or bow. An oxbow lake is the separated remnant of a river meander. A meander is a broad curve in a river. When the river cuts across the narrow neck of that curve, the abandoned loop remains as a lake. Its outline is curved, so it resembles a horseshoe or a bent bow. Option A is wrong because a straight line does not show the old bend. Option B is wrong because a mountain is a relief feature, not the shape of this lake. Option C is correct because it describes the characteristic curved outline. Option D is wrong because a sea wave is moving water, not the fixed plan shape of a lake. Memory cue: oxbow looks like an ox’s curved bow or horseshoe.