The Büyük Menderes River: Origin of Meandering Phenomenon

The Büyük Menderes River is the longest river that discharges into the Aegean Sea, with a length of 615 km. It is one of the main rivers dominating in the geomorphology of western Turkey, with its drainage basin that reaches to 24,000 km2. The river is also very important because of its meandering channel patterns. The term ‘meandering’ in geomorphology, architecture and art originates from the ancient name of this river: Maiandros. Its catchment area mainly consists of three courses located in the main grabens of the region. The upper course of the Büyük Menderes River is located in the Baklan-Dinar Graben, while the middle and lower courses are in the Denizli and Büyük Menderes grabens, respectively. The aim of this study is to describe the meandering channel features of this river in its current course from its source to its mouth, and related landforms and landscapes. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG