Space Daily·2 min read·medium
Geologists have taught for decades that rivers needed plants to form their distinctive S-shaped meanders, but Stanford University researchers published a study in August 2025 showing that rivers were
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A new study from Stanford University challenges the long-held geological belief that plants were necessary for the formation of S-shaped river meanders. Researchers found evidence that rivers developed these patterns even on barren continents before the evolution of trees and grasses.
For most of Earth’s history, no trees, grasses or roots held riverbanks together. The familiar geological picture has been that these barren continents were crossed mainly by braided rivers, networks of shallow channels shifting around exposed sand b... [9273 chars]
scienceenvironment
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