U.S. Geological Survey photo by Bruce Molnia. (fair use policy)
A stream that is overloaded with sediment tends to break into smaller channels that wander across the streambed, branching and reconnecting. This pattern is called anastomosis or braiding. This anastomosing stream is in the Fairweather Range of southeastern Alaska, where a heavy sediment load from Rendu Glacier has built up an outwash plain. See more photos of the Fairweather Range in my Gulf of Alaska photo tour and Alaskan fieldwork series.