One of the finest examples of "entrenched meanders" in the world

 

This section of the San Juan River near Mexican Hat, Utah is called the Great Goosenecks. The photo was taken 1,000 feet above the river. The meandering pattern originated several million years ago when the river was flowing on a relatively flat plain and the entire Colorado Plateau was slowly uplifted. As the plateau was uplifted, the river cut downward creating the goosenecks.