Natural Characteristics One of the characteristics of a river is that it follows lazy loops and bends, or meanders. Why are rivers crooked and why does a river meander? Meanders are curves in a stream (or river). Rivers meander because that's just the way nature is. Meanders usually appear wherever a river goes down a gentle slope, flowing around obstructions, through fine-grained soil that easily erodes but sticks together well enough to make firm banks. Obstructions in the land, such as trees or firm land, causes the river to bend and find another path. The river begins to hit against the banks until it erodes and forms a curve. Meanders are important features of a river because it helps to regulate the velocity of the river. As the water winds around the curves, it hits the banks and this slows the flow of the water down. One of the reasons why we experience flooding in Malaysia, especially in cities such as Kuala Lumpur, is because many of our rivers have been straightened and channelised by concrete banks. Straight rivers mean that the water has no obstructions to slow down its flow, so the water can rise very fast.