What is Alluvial fan?
[[File:Alluvial fan, Taklimakan Desert, XinJiang Province, China, NASA, ASTER.jpg|thumb|right|A big alluvial fan across the [[mountain range]]s of [[Xinjiang]].]] [[File:Alluvial fan in Iran.jpg|thumb|right|Alluvial fan in southern [[Iran]]]] An '''alluvial fan''' is a [[Fan (machine)|fan]]-shaped [[deposition (geology)|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 range]]s that are [[Erosion|crumbling]] away. If it rains a lot, the fan area will usually [[flood]].<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9429(2002)128:3(322)|title=Experimental Steep, Braided Flow: Application to Flooding Risk on Fans|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_journal-of-hydraulic-engineering_2002-03_128_3/page/322|year=2002|last1=Cazanacli|first1=Dan|first2=Chris|first3=Gary|journal=Journal of Hydraulic Engineering|volume=128|pages=322|last2=Paola|last3=Parker|issue=3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|isbn=0-309-05542-3|author=Committee on Alluvial Fan Flooding, Water Science and Technology Board, Commission on Geosciences, Environment, and Resources, National Research Council.|year=1996|publisher=National Academy Press|location=Washington, D.C.|title=Alluvial fan flooding}}</ref> == 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. ==Related pages== *[[River delta]] ==References== {{reflist}} ==Other websites== *{{cite journal|title=Large alluvial fans on Mars|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research|year=2005|volume=110|pages=E04005|doi=10.1029/2004JE002352|url=http://erode.evsc.virginia.edu/papers/moore_fans_2004JE002352.pdf|author1=Howard, J.M.|author2=Moore, A.D.|access-date=2012-03-14|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=ht