Old Scheldt meander of Overmere-Donk and Berlare Broek

This area is located west of Berlare, on the left bank of the Scheldt. It is likely that at the beginning of the Late Glacial period (15,500 to 11,500 years ago) the transition from a wild to a meandering river pattern took place. The cause of the transition was the milder climate and the increase in plant growth, which compacted vegetation and reduced erosion. On the outside of the curves there is an abrasion, on the inside there is a deposit of material. As a result, the river gradually shifts its course towards the outside of the bends. Abrasion and deposits occur mainly at extremely high water levels, where so-called sickle banks are formed in the inner bend. These are visible in the landscape as low, curved ridges. Especially between Ghent and Dendermonde, the Scheldt from that period has left behind a large number of fossil meander bends, for example those of Overmere-Donk, Kalken and Laarne-Damvallei. The transition from a wild to a meandering river pattern was accompanied by an incision, as a result of which the former Scheldt plain was a few metres below the general filling level of the Flemish Valley. This incision phase determined the appearance of the current river plain, because later river erosion and deposition were largely limited to the area within the late glacial floodplain. As a result, the boundaries of the late glacial river plain along a large part of the Scheldt correspond to those of the current alluvial plain. The altitude in the alluvial plain of the Scheldt varies between 3 and 4 meters above sea level. The flattened sandy donks have a height of between 4 and 5 meters. The dunes within the river plain would later form higher and drier donks in the middle of the moist alluvium as prime settlement sites for humans. Many of these dune massifs are still coveted locations for luxury residential areas.

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