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Alluvial fans are common in the geologic record, such as in the Triassic basins of eastern North America and the New Red Sandstone of south Devon. Such fan deposits likely contain the largest accumulations of gravel in the geologic record. Alluvial fans have also been found on Mars and Titan, showing that fluvial processes have occurred on ...
In (semi)arid regions, therefore, alluvial fans are often used for irrigation of agricultural crops. The fans reveal much greenery in the harsh desert-like environment. Irrigation methods in alluvial fans differ according to the hydrological regime of the river, the shape of the fan, and the natural resources available to maintain human life.
An alluvial fan could have been deposited and formed outside of a mountain range, however, thrusting of the mountain belt could cause the alluvial fan to become broken up by the new mountain forming. Thus, the alluvial fan would be split with the fan on either side of the new mountain range development and could change the steepness of the fan. [1]
Straight-type channels can be found at alluvial fans. Braided rivers, which form in (tectonically active) areas that have a larger sedimentary load than the discharge of the river and a high gradient. Meandering rivers, which form a sinuous path in a usually low-gradient plain toward the end of a fluvial system.
The present consensus is that "alluvium" refers to loose sediments of all types deposited by running water in floodplains or in alluvial fans or related landforms. [1] [7] [8] However, the meaning of the term has varied considerably since it was first defined in the French dictionary of Antoine Furetière, posthumously published in 1690.
Alluvial fans usually form at the base of mountains, where high-velocity rivers or streams meet a relatively flat area and lose the energy needed to carry large quantities of sediment, which ultimately spreads out in all available directions. They tend to be larger and more obvious in arid regions.
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They make up significant percentages of many alluvial fans and debris cones along steep mountain fronts. Fully exposed deposits commonly have lobate forms with boulder-rich snouts, and the lateral margins of debris-flow deposits and paths are commonly marked by the presence of boulder-rich lateral levees .