The Reelfoot Lake in west Tennessee is an oxbow lake formed when the Mississippi River changed course following the New Madrid Earthquake of 1811–1812. There are many oxbow lakes alongside the Mississippi River and its tributaries. The largest oxbow lake in North America, Lake Chicot (located near Lake Village, Arkansas), was originally part of the Mississippi River.
The Oxbow (Connecticut River), a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) bend in the Connecticut River, is disconnected at one end.
The town of Horseshoe Lake, Arkansas is named after the horseshoe-shaped oxbow lake on which it is located.
Cuckmere Haven in Sussex, England contains a widely meandering river with many oxbow lakes, often referred to in physical geography textbooks.
Kanwar Lake Bird Sanctuary, India contains rare and endangered migratory birds and is one of Asia's largest oxbow lakes.
Carter Lake, Iowa was created after severe flooding in 1877 led to the river shifting approximately 1.25 mi to the southeast.
Oxbow lakes may be formed when a river channel is straightened artificially to improve navigation or for flood alleviation. This occurred notably on the upper Rhine in Germany in the nineteenth century.
An example of an entirely artificial waterway with oxbows is the Oxford Canal in England. When originally constructed, it had a very meandering course, following the contours of the land, but the northern part of the canal was straightened out between 1829 and 1834. The work reduced its length from 91 to 77 and a half miles (approximately) and left a number of oxbow-shaped sections isolated from the new course.
