Alluvial fan

A big alluvial fan across the mountain ranges of Xinjiang.
Alluvial fan in southern Iran

An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit of soil and rocks. It forms where a fast-flowing river spreads out over a flat plain. They are usually found in between mountain ranges that are crumbling away. If it rains a lot, the fan area will usually flood.[1][2]

Alluvial plain

An alluvial plain is a mostly flat landform where sediment is deposited over time. The cause is the same: one or more rivers coming from highland regions. A floodplain is the smaller area over which the rivers flood at a particular period of time, and the alluvial plain is the larger area, where floodplains have shifted over geological time.

Alluvial Fan Media

Related pages

References

  1. Cazanacli, Dan; Paola, Chris; Parker, Gary (2002). "Experimental Steep, Braided Flow: Application to Flooding Risk on Fans". Journal of Hydraulic Engineering. 128 (3): 322. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2002)128:3(322).
  2. Committee on Alluvial Fan Flooding, Water Science and Technology Board, Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources, National Research Council. (1996). Alluvial fan flooding. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. ISBN 0-309-05542-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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