4.5 Alluvial fans
Basin margin (fault) Feeder canyon Active depositional lobe Fan apex Fan toe Alluvial fans
An alluvial fan at the edge of a basin in a hot, arid climate
Scree and debris flow fan ~50 m radius (Spitsbergen) Fluvial fan ~50 km radius (Taklimakan Desert, China)
Types of alluvial fan Mixtures of these processes can occur on a single fan
Debris-flow dominated alluvial fans are small, steep and made up of overlapping lobes of poorly-sorted conglomerate
Debris flows
Sedimentary logs through alluvial fan deposits Debris flow dominated fan. Matrix-supported, poorly sorted conglomerate beds, no sedimentary structures Sheetflood fan deposits. Horizontally stratified conglomerate and sandstone Stream channel fans. Channel-fill units of conglomerates and sandstones in fining- up successions (braided river deposits) metres - 10s metres
Sheetflood dominated alluvial fans are typically kilometres in radius and made up of sheets of moderately-sorted, clast-supported conglomerate
Sheetfloods
Sedimentary logs through alluvial fan deposits Debris flow dominated fan. Matrix-supported, poorly sorted conglomerate beds, no sedimentary structures Sheetflood fan deposits. Horizontally stratified conglomerate and sandstone Stream channel fans. Channel-fill units of conglomerates and sandstones in fining- up successions (braided river deposits) metres - 10s metres
Stream dominated alluvial fans are kilometres to tens of kilometres in radius and made up of stream channel deposits and overbank sediments
Imbricated, clast supported Conglomerates and sandstones Stream channel deposits