River Delta - Deltas and Alluvial Fans

Deltas and Alluvial Fans

Deltas are differentiated from alluvial fans in that deltas have a shallow slope, contain fine-grained sediment (sand and mud), and always flow into a body of water. Alluvial fans, on the other hand, are steep, have coarse-grained sediments (including boulders), and are dominated by debris flows and large floods; these floods are often flash floods. They can either flow onto a land surface, or into a body of water; in the latter case, they are called alluvial fan deltas.

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