fluvial landforms floodplains, terraces, deltas, and alluvial fans rio terraba, costa rica. foto:...
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Fluvial LandformsFloodplains, Terraces, Deltas, and Alluvial Fans
Rio Terraba, Costa Rica. Foto: Lachniet (2004)
Floodplains
• I) Vertical Accretion via overbank flow– 1) Flood stage– 2) water velocity decreases– 3) Sediment settles out• Coarsest near river, finer farther away, creates natural
levees
Natural Levees
From Hamblin, 1989. The Earth’s Dynamic Systems.
Natural Levee
From Hamblin, 1989. The Earth’s Dynamic Systems.
Floodplains
• II) Lateral Accretion–Meander migration • Bank erosion • Point bar deposition
Point Bar Deposits
Overbank Deposits
From Ritter et al., 2002. Process Geomorphology, Fourth Edition
Lateral Accretion Landforms
– Meander scrolls: • old meander topography (aka “bar and swale”) now dry
– Meander cutoffs• Old meander channels no longer carrying main flow,
but still filled with river water
– Oxbow lakes: • Old meander channels now isolated from channel and
containing standing water; contains fine sediments and clay plugs
Meander scroll topography
From Hamblin, 1989. The Earth’s Dynamic Systems.
Braided River landforms• “Braids” = multiple
channels formed in weak non-cohesive sediment
• Braid bars and islands = zones of deposition, formed during high flow; may be stabilized by vegetation if they are old
• Splays and chutes: ‘shortcuts’ across a bar or Island; chutes are larger
• Terrace: former river levels formed prior to river incision
Braid Island
Active channel
TerraceMultiple channels (“braids”)
Splay
Braid bars
Chute
Copper River, at Chitina, Alaska (Lachniet, 2009)
Cyclic Stream Terraces
• Terraces are abandoned floodplains• Mark older relative high water level• Form due to – 1) uplift– 2) base-level lowering– 3) climatic change
• Erosional or depositional
From Hamblin, 1989. The Earth’s Dynamic Systems.
Terrace Formation I
Terrace Formation II
From Hamblin, 1989. The Earth’s Dynamic Systems.
Figure 7-14
Paired and unpaired
• Paired = terraces on each side of valley at the same altitude and formed at the same time
• Unpaired = Not the above
Stream terraces in Furnace Creek Wash, Death Valley National Park
With Alex Roy, photo by Lachniet, 2007
Note former stream bed of graded channelNotch cut into bedrock lowered base levelIncision into stream bed resulted in terracesFlooding to Furnace Creek Fan was alleviated
Copyright © Matthias Jakob 2002
Ancient fluvial terraces in Mustang, Nepal.
Stripped Structural Surfaces
• Selective stripping of weak rocks from resistant rocks• NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH TERRACES• Profile of surfaces unrelated to river profile• AKA “Cliff and Bench” topography
Stripped Structural Surface
Not terraces even though the may look like it!Surfaces defined by bedrock orientation, does not slope like the stream
Deltas
• Deposition occurs as velocity decreases where water leaves confined channel
• Upper delta surface = water level• Classified based on morphology and process
(net deposition or degradation)
Barbados sea level
• Sea Level reached near modern level by ca. 8000 to 5000 yr BP
• ALL major deltas visible on the planet are thus young
Constructional Deltas
Fluvial Activity dominant process
Lobate: Classic delta shape Numerous distributaries Nile River
Elongate or ‘birds foot’ Fewer distributaries Finer grained Modern Mississippi Delta
Lobate Delta Landsat Image
http://www.landsat.org/landsat_gallery/P79R16D100200.html
Path: 79Row: 16Date: October 2, 2000 Location: Bering Straight, Alaska
Mississippi River delta Landsat image
http://www.landsat.org/landsat_gallery/P22R39D122200.html
Delta Beds and Morphology
From Easterbrook, 1999. Surface Processes and Landforms, second edition.
Delta Plain
Pro DeltaDelta Slope
Upper delta plain – entirely fluvial Lower delta plain – modified by tides
Tidal flats, mangroves, marshes Delta slope – deposition of fluvial sediment Pro delta – deposition of marine or lacustrine sediment
Delta Evolution
• Controlled by base level changes• Avulsion– Channel abandonment to take a shorter route to
the ocean• BIG problem with the Mississippi River– Atchafalya River would avulse and capture the
main Mississippi River flow if not controlled by humans
Figures 7-38 and 7-39
Piedmonts• Sloping surface that connects mountains to intervening flat
plains• Usually consist of planar eroded bedrock surfaces called
pediments• And aggradational alluvial fans
From Bloom. Geomorphology, 2nd Edition
Alluvial Fans
• Most common in arid to semi-arid environments• Also found in humid glacial, humid tropical, and
humid temperate environments• Characterized by fan (or cone) shape radiating
outward from a central point• Deposits reflects net aggradation as channel gradient
decreases upon leaving mountain
Type I: Debris Flow Alluvial Fans
• Form in areas with a low water/sediment ratio (w/s)
• Debris flow dominant– Flow within channels, and leave well-defined
margins with distinct ridges• Intermittent flow and movement on the fan,
with recurrence intervals of 1-50 yr• 5 to 15o slopes• Most common in arid environments
Type I Alluvial Fan
Black Mountains, near Badwater, Death Valley. Foto: Lachniet (2004)
Debris Flow morphology
• Fig. 7.24 portions to show morphology of debris flow deposits on fans
From Ritter et al., 2002. Process Geomorphology, Fourth Edition
Debris flow levees, Death Valley
Debris flow fan in Death Valley
Type II: Sheetflood Alluvial Fans
• Common in humid areas with high w/s ratios– E.g., glaciated landscapes in Alaska, or other
humid areas • Fluvial flow and sheetfloods dominant process• Constant to seasonal recurrence intervals• 2 to 8o slopes• Further from mountain front• Braided/ephemeral streams primary
depositional process
Table 7-3
Copyright © Ron Dorn 2002
Type II alluvial fan: Warm and dry environment
Copyright © Norm Catto 2002
Type II Alluvial Fan:Cold and Humid environment
Alluvial Fan - Snake River, Yukon, August 1982.
Bajada Coalesced alluvial fans forming an apron
Bajada on E slope of Panamint Mountains, Death Valley, CA. Foto: Lachniet (2003)
Alluvial Fan Morphology
• Apex• Feeder Channel• Fanhead Trench• Incised channel• Intersection point• Active depositional lobe
• Fig. 7.20 A
Feeder Channel
Apex
Incised Channel
Intersection point:Where active lobe elevation=inactive lobe elevation
• Fig. 7-20 B
Humid-type alluvial fan
Formed in eroding dune sand, beach along Lake Michigan. Foto: Lachniet (1994)
Miniature Alluvial Fan
Lobes
• Active– Distributary drainage
• Single channel diverges into multiple channels
• Inactive– Tributary drainage
• Classic dendritic drainage
– Gullies formed by rainfall that don’t head in the mountains above the fan
– Often separated from mountain front: “beheaded fan”
Tributary Drainage – Black Mountains front, Death Valley CA
Inactive lobe
Active lobe
Tributary Drainage – the Big Dip, Death Valley National Park, CA
Distributary Drainage
Panamint Mountains
BajadaDeath Valley, CA
Fan Evolution
• Climate change is dominant control on fan evolution• Tectonics is secondary• Most fan surfaces have inactive lobes• And fans can undergo net aggradation or incision
depending on climate change– Wet = aggradation via increased debris flow– Dry = incision due to decreased sediment delivery
Copyright © Ron Dorn 2002
Fan Evolution
GE: Warm Springs Canyon Fan, Death Valley N.P.